Massacre
by TheNextTitan
Summary: 10th Doctor The Doctor is on the lead of what could be another Time Lord, but why do bad things keep on happening to the citizens of London and Rose along the way? 1st Fanfic for Doctor Who. R&R No flames please. 10Rose
1. Chapter 1

Massacre

Chapter 1: None but I

Light was shimmering down into the small house on the edge of the street, through the curtained window onto the foot of a basic wooden bed. The sleeping body underneath the duvet stirred silently and poked a head out from under the small warm cave that had been created.

A mass of brown hair knotted itself down the teenage girls shoulders, highlighted with a few black streaks. Green eyes blinked madly in the suns rays, while a set jaw line yawned. She reached out a pale hand and reached out towards a glass of water. She moaned softly as she only got a mouthful of air as she tipped the glass back and placed it back on the bedside table, before sitting up and stretching her arms out. She frowned as she looked at her calendar. She could have sworn it was a Monday...

"Tess, would you get down here please?" Muttering under her breath, Jess reached over and grabbed a tacky purple dressing gown and stomped her way downstairs.

The Doctor frowned as he examined the TARDIS's control panel from underneath, poking his sonic screwdriver into a socket, which returned by hissing sparks at him. He growled and did it again, this time getting a more positive result as it hummed smoothly. Beaming at his own success, he pulled himself back out and stood up, gathering his coat and turning a few switches. Clapping as the TARDIS began to fire up he turned and announced his victory to Rose, but only to fine she wasn't there. Frowning slightly, he turned around. Then he heard the babble of voices and knew she was outside. Walking down the ramp and throwing open the doors, the Doctor smiled as he saw her talking to her mother and sat and waited until the both finished.

"We can go now, of course, that's if you want to go." The Doctor said to her, grinning as he watched her face light up.

"Of course, what do you think I am? Boring?" Rose laughed following him into the TARDIS.

"Perhaps." The Doctor said, grinning. Rose hit him on the arm and laughed. All of a sudden the Doctor froze and stared at his watch.

"Is it me or have we gone forward by three days?" He asked slowly, shaking the watch fiercely before turning to Rose. She cast her memory. Yesterday it was Tuesday...But today it was Saturday. The Doctor looked worried. He went forwards into the TARDIS and looked closely at the screen. He was right. There was something wrong and it was making its way into everyone else's life.

Tess sat on a bench, watching the world go by and her eyes fixing on the odd bird or person. The sun was cold, accompanied by a harsh wind, which picked up dust and tried to place it in her eyes. She blinked furiously as the wind picked up again, shielding her eyes with a single hand.

It was a normal weekend for her. She didn't enjoy being stuck in the house with her so called family. They were far from it. She was adopted from a care home in Manchester when she was 2 and was taken here. For years she had lived with the Wilson family, but it had only been a year since she had seen through the lie and was told she wasn't theirs. The happy days were gone and were replaced with bitter arguments, snapping answers and general negativity. Though, Jess had thought sourly as she glared at the ground below, there were no happy days. Just nice and polite, but at the same time lonely and depressing. There would be at least one smile in the whole household, that was referred to as 'nice' or 'pleasant'.

She sighed and looked at the dog that was passing by, tied to its owner by a red ropey lead. It was a Labrador, coal black with a noble face. A set of round chestnut eyes gazed longingly to run, set its legs at full power and chase some nearby pigeons. Tess could only frown and look up at the man on the other end of the lead.

If the saying that dogs look like their owners in this case, Tess would be shaking her head, but she only held herself back from her sanity.

Greasy blond her hung lowly on the fat chubby head, great dropping of fat drooling in places, giving the impression that he was about to weep. A tight top was something the he shouldn't have been wearing. His fat gut burst over his too small jeans and sweat was already visible from underneath the arms. Something told Jess that the Labrador was more likely to escape then to run around if he let it off the lead, Tess didn't blame it. Having to funeral march all the way round the park, you could examine every blade of grass and still count how many hairs they had.

All of a sudden, Tess felt a tingling right at the bottom of her spine. For some odd reason she closed her eyes, but she could still see the man and his dog in front of her. The sensation grew, flying its way up her back and into her head, hovering round her eyes. It was almost like flying straight up, speeding towards the stars.

Then, as fast as it had come, Tess felt it ebb away. Frowning, her head pounding slightly, she looked up. The man and his dog were gone. Tess started, looking frantically round and then she spotted him again, waddling along, the dog walking slowly beside him, perhaps looking embarrassed. Then as they came up to her, they vanished. Tess yelled out, her eyes wide. Then she saw them, yet again, at the end of the path. Then she heard a noise, as though engines were coming to a stop, something was screaming in her ears. She was sensing someone else, two people. But she had no time to watch the TARDIS appear, because she was running flat out towards the trees, hoping to hide between them and spy upon what was happening.

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, looking frantic and scared. Something had made the TARDIS stop, something that had broken a time thread and put it on a loop. And not every day items or aliens could do such a thing, unless he had done it. Or...

He spotted it immediately. A large man and his dog, him waddling and dog merely slouching. He frowned, looking worried again. The sound of footsteps behind him announced the presence of Rose.

"What wrong? Why are we here still?" She asked, her tone was uneasy and sounded like glass. The Doctor nodded towards the time loop.

"Something, or someone, has been messing around with the time patterns." He explained. "Too complicated of course for human minds of course to give the full details, but basically, someone's managed to make that poor dog and his master go back and forth, not knowing a single thing, only thinking about what they were thinking before the time thread was messed with." Rose looked confused, blinking slightly and staring at the loop with wonder.

"So, what you're saying is that the guy can't even know he's in a time loop." She said, making to Doctor roll his eyes quickly, her idea of things always so simple and...well, maybe a bit on the average side.

"Yeah, if you want to think of it like that." He said, beginning to walk towards the time loop, but taking caution, for her had the events of November 7th 1987 in his mind. He'd sort of hoped that he wouldn't be in the sort of situation again, but, if he or Rose weren't careful about this, they might just have to go through it all over. Not fun.

"So, what could have done that?" Rose asked again, trying to keep up. The Doctor didn't answer. But an odd feeling was in his 2 hearts. It wasn't something he reckoned, but someone. And that someone, just may be, he hoped, another Time Lord.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Heavy Hearts

Shock went through her system and she clutched her chest. Tess fell back. Something was going wild in hear head, images flashing madly, something roaring in her ears. Her sweaty palms came up to her head, her eyes screwed up tight and she gritted her teeth. The images became clearer and suddenly Tess was seeing creatures and events beyond her wildest dreams.

Then she was hearing screams. Terrible screams, pitched high and yells, orders, saying something in some language which she couldn't understand. She felt cold, as though she was lonely, completely alone. No one was there.

There was a large crack and something soared through the air, hitting the trapped time loop. There was a pause and everything around it seemed to freeze. It was as though the whole vent was being watched, pausing and fast forwarding before finally playing at normal speed. The man and his dog were released from the time loop, but still unaware of what had been going on.

Tess whipped round, her heart beating. It was drumming irregularly in her chest, as though there was 2 hearts racing. Unsure of what to do she placed a hand on her chest. She felt the familiar pump going on and on, as though being squeeze and released rapidly by some toddler. Then, her hand beginning to shake violently, she moved it to the side. There was a second beat.

Her eyes wide, she peered from the trees and at the blue box with its driver and passenger looking around worriedly. Nothing was making any sense. She felt weird. Her head was in practical agony and her vision was beginning to darken at the sides. Before she knew what was going to happen, she crashed onto the floor beside, loosing all consciousness before her head thudded at the ground.

The time loop had been undone. Now the man and his dog walked past, the man looking wildly at the Doctor and Rose, his eyes travelling over the blue police box and flicking back to the pair before turning away, a slimy grin plastered on his sweaty face.

The Doctor now was beginning to walk further away from the TARDIS, looking for some sign, some slither of hope. Rose too stood by him, looking around, not entirely sure of what she was supposed to be looking for. An alien with some jacked up time mess thing? But right now she was staring at the Doctor's back, glancing at his face when he turned this way and that and saw strain there, like that night after he had been regenerated. Pain, sharp pain, tearing at his hearts and creating such a look of worry on his face, such a worried expression that Rose had only seen when they were both or just her in danger. It scared her deep down. The Doctor was someone she learnt from, someone who would be there for her when things went wrong. But, the mighty lion seemed now to only be a small defenceless kitten, crying out to something.

The Doctor scanned every inch of surrounding of him and spotted the small band of trees that lay near by. It was worth a shot.

"Rose, stay here for a moment. I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." He said, his arm outstretched behind him, his hand in the 'Stop' position. Rose did what she was told. This seemed to be important to the Doctor, she didn't want him getting upset. So she stood firmly where she was.

The trees looked foreboding. It was early evening in summer, but they still held great shadows in their bony fingered branches, giving the effect that they would swallow the Doctor whole if he stepped among them. But for all he cared, if one even creaked, he'd blast it. This wasn't really a time for him to be eaten. There wouldn't really be a time for him to be swallowed by a bunch of mossy trees. All that he had time for now was finding this Time Lord.

His two hearts raced as he stepped into the cool shadows, his eyes dark in the sudden shade. He looked round, checking slowly behind each tree trunk. He knew that he could scare most people. Hell, he'd scared the newly elected Prime Minister with just 6 words.

He heard the sound of something being dragged. He turned to his right, as though he was closing in on the noise. The sound waves led him away from the catches of sunlight and deeper into the bunch of trees. The Doctor admitted silently to himself. Trees can look small on the outside, but when you're around them and behind the first few trunks, they can behold a large area of space.

Shaking his admittance to the side, the Doctor inched toward the sound. He hid badly behind medium sized trunk of a tree, but he was unnoticed. Slowly he turned his head and peeked out from behind the tree.

Two great figures walked along, their footsteps like distant thunder as they thudded heavily on the ground. Their backs were high, their shoulders grazing on the high reaches of bark on the trees. Thin waves of hair lapped on the red skin of the creatures while a pair of heavily set horns curled from their skulls. The sound of their heavy breathing could be heard from where the Doctor hid. But he wasn't focusing on the horned beasts. He was looking at what they were dragging.

A girl. Young, and in pain. The Doctor could tell. Though she was obviously unconscious, her eyes were screwed up tight and a mark on her lip showed where she had bitten it. Her arms were the pulling implement for the creatures, tucked tight between the crooks of their muscled arms, while her legs were pulled behind.

The Doctor noted one thing. It was not the fact that the girl had a complete opposite style of clothes to Rose, nor was it the fact she had deep brown hair or the fact she was wearing a tatty pair of black Converse shoes. It was the fact that the tips of her fingers were glowing. Glowing a soft, gentle gold, which seemed to dim then brighten in a mesmerising pattern. This caused a sudden itching sensation in the Doctor's own hands and his eyes flicked to them. They looked fine; they certainly weren't looking like a pair of Fairy Lights. He turned them over so his palms now face the sky. Nothing. But, as the Doctor looking closer at his palms, he saw, what the human race supposed was his life line, was glowing slightly.

His eyes wide at this, the Doctor looked up. Only to be face to face with one of the creatures that had carried of the last of his race.

* * *

Do you ever get the dreaded feeling that you've repeated an ending twice on the very next chapter? Well, that's what I have done here. Also, be aware, if you a new reader of my fanfic's, that most of my chapters ends with cliffies. Oh what joy, some of you ar erthinking, and yes, I do understand that it is highly fustrating and annoying, but hell, that's the way I am. A pain in the rear.

Please do review my story, it helps me loads, not only becuase everytime I sign into my email accound it comes up with liek billions of emails and review alerts, but because your reviews mean alot to m and my overridden imagination.

So please R&R, say anything, but try not to flame me. Too badly at least.

Thanks, TheNextTitan


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Run for Your Life

Rose frowned and looked at her watch frustrated, glancing to the band of trees. Waiting when something is plainly wrong is not joyous, so Rose was no crossing her arms angrily across her chest and sighing. But her eyes could not hide the worry. Couldn't protect the glint of fear that now began to shine through, like some luminous beacon.

When 15 minutes had gone past, she threw up her arms and began to stride forwards, looking defiant and slight monstrous as she stormed past view into the trees.

Upon entering, she got blasted with a great wave of heat. She frowned, unzipping her jacket, still striding on, her face mingled with worry and slight anger.

The Doctor grinned.

"Ah." He said, stepping back a bit so that he could take the creature's features in. "Now, look what we have here."

A head of what looked similar to a bear and lion cross over stared coldly down at him; from what could have been a height of 8ft. A mass of crimson read hair fell by a think set jaw, which bared two dagger like fangs. Below the great horns was a pair of red fluffed ears, which flicked back on forth as the pair of orange eyes surveyed the Doctor. No mercy was concealed in them. It was a cold blooded killer, ready to snap the Doctor in half like a tooth pick. Whatever they were.

"You're a Garthes." The Doctor exclaimed suddenly, his face breaking into the beaming smile. "Oh, this is absolutely fantastic; I haven't seen your species in years!"

The Garthes snorted a small jet of smoke flying slowly out of the nostrils.

"But I guess now's not the time to be praising you." The Doctor said suddenly. "What I want to know, you see, is why are you taking off the girl?" The Garthes growled, what would have sounded like a vicious grunt, but was immediately translated.

"She is the last Time Lord. We found her, but haven't been able to start her powers until now. Now she will be taken to the planet Garfreyas to be put into enslavement, she will make a good slave to my king" It said. "But do not be worried, you will be joining her."

"Oh really? And what makes you think that I'm going." The Doctor growled. His face looked stern, and one of his eyes was fixed on the girl. The Garthes laughed, roaring at the same time, so it amplified the noise.

"You have no choice."

The Doctor grinned.

"No choice, huh? Well," He said, walking straight up to the Garthes and looking it straight in the eye. "I don't think you have a choice of taking me. Because, that girl and I are staying right here!" His face was as cold as stone as he thrust his finger at the ground. The Garthes merely tossed its horned head and was chuckling softly.

"You finals, you think just because a few last of your beaten race means that you can hold on to what is left. But you, Time Lord, you have no purpose on this planet, no purpose in the universe, no purpose in time. There is nothing left for you, only the great tapestry of time for you to meddle with." It growled.

The Doctor went pale. But his eyes however now burned with a sheer hatred. His fists now clenched and his jaw was locked as he glared up at the Garthes. His voice was steady, but it sounded like thunder as he spoke.

"We have as much purpose as you do. I forbid you to take this child or me and demand that you leave this planet."

The Garthes merely snorted and pawed at the ground. A great growl was sounding from his throat.

"Prepare to be captured, Time Lord!" It roared.

Rose heard voices talking, immediately recognising the Doctor's. With a single cell of hesitation in her body, she began to storm forward, starting to piece together an argument as she came closer. She heard laughter and then a few words, muffled by some sort of growling. But she was able to make out some of it and gasped silently as it was ended.

Then she heard the voice of the Doctor. So defying, yet so calm. Not a single ripple of shock in it. Yet she could hear the great rage. Such a volume of rage, she was surprised his voice wasn't raised to a yell. It scared her, as much as it scared her when she saw the Doctor worrying not so long ago.

Suddenly there was a roar. Rose started, her eyes wide. The Doctor suddenly burst out from behind a tree. He took her presence all in with one glance then grabbed her hand in his.

"What the...Doctor?" Rose asked, looking afraid.

"No time, just a slight problem, but if it makes you feel any better, I'd advise you to run for your life!" He cried.

Both of them had just started run when the tree that they had been standing near seconds ago suddenly snapped, keeling over, its stump burnt and black. The Garthes now was charging, flames flicking back and forth from its mouth, its needle sharp horns aimed for the backs of Rose and the Doctor's back.

"Slight problem?" Rose screamed. The Doctor rolled his eyes and just continued dragging her forwards.

They ran flat out, straight towards the TARDIS. The Garthes saw this and suddenly began to increase speed. The Doctor tried to keep on running. Rose tried to run along side him. But the Garthes roared and suddenly brought its horns down, the plan to hit the legs. The Doctor jumped as he had seen the attack coming, but Rose had been too intent on reaching the TARDIS, that she had only felt the Doctor jump beside her before realising what the Garthes was doing. She jumped too late. The Garthes horns caught at her calves, the left point drawing a deep line of red across her shin. Rose's legs buckled and she lost grip on the Doctor's hand, letting it slip away as she crashed down. Straight in the path of the charging Garthes.

Tess coughed. Her throat was dry and her eyes were stinging. What had happened? She felt herself being pulled along. She looked up, hoping to see anyone but the guy that had come out of the blue box. But suddenly she took it back and nearly screamed as she saw the faces of the creatures that were dragging her away. Her legs were stiff and the jeans were particularly muddy. Mind you, they would be, seeing as she had been dragged through half of the mud that was contained in a single London park.

She was thankful, however the situation, that the creatures hadn't noticed her coming to consciousness. She felt how sore her shoulders were from being held up in such a position, but also discovered the grip on her arms wasn't as tight as it would have been. They were obviously still under the thought that she was still out.

With this flutter of hope, she began to plan. It wouldn't be much of a plan, just trying to get away. But where would she go. It was not like she could exactly poof to the next Police station. Like the Police would believe her anyway. Probably just be put into care or something...

The looked at where she was being dragged away from. She was still in the Park, thank the lord. She'd just have to run. As fast as she could.

Without a split seconds hesitation, she wrenched her arms out of the beast's grips and started to bound back through the forest. She heard great growls and roars from behind, but she kept on speeding ahead, not wanting to look back.

* * *

The cliffie is still here of course. Sorry...-sniggers-. The next chapter will be up as soon as possible, I just have to get my friend to proof read it for me! Please review!

TheNextTitan


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Run and Hide

Tess sprinted out through the trees, but she knew that the things were still on hot on her heels. She dashed straight out into the open. Bad idea. But, perhaps she could alert the aid of some fat man and his distressed dog. Her hopes were doubted however. She didn't know how long she was out for, but it must have been some time. He was well away, even with his sluggish pace.

She did however see another one of the creatures. It was looming over someone. Someone Tess recognized. It suddenly snapped back to her. She spotted the blue box not far off and then the man. She felt the ground shaking beneath her and knew that if she stopped running now, she'd be killed. But, now she was beginning to do something odd in her head. She was calculating something. She was calculating something and understanding it, each weird figure, each single equation and angle, it was clear.

Tess seemed to see everything in a whole new light. Everything had changed, she saw everything now as some adventure, a thrill and she could now feel an immense power inside of her. It was a bubbling sensation in her chest, rising and falling. Her brain seemed to be happily swelling with this information. New information. Alien information.

With this new stuff going on inside her head, she turned sharply and headed towards the other creature, a slick grin on her colourless face.

The Doctor felt his two hearts stop. His eyes were wide and his mouth was in a silent yell as he saw the sight before him. A sight he'd never wished to see. The whole world had seemed to slow down. He was beginning to run towards Rose. He felt the ground rumbling. The Garthes raised its horns up in a position, ready to pierce straight the ribcage. The horns were thirsty for blood, blotting out the sun. The ground was now shaking. Hang on...the ground was shaking?

The Doctor whipped round and spotted the girl, being chased by another pair of Garthes. A look of mixed emotion was on her face. He only had to glance to see what was going to happen. Without a moment's hesitation, he dived down, straight on the ground and slid towards Rose. He grabbed the crook of her arm and pulled her out of there, into a tight hug, keeping her as close to his chest as he could before he began to scoot backwards. He felt her trembling and could almost smell the fear in the air.

Tess was inches away from the second creature. She could have almost laughed at the look on its face, but felt too sick to do that at this moment in time. It was a matter of physics, angles and something else random to do with maths. Non-human maths of course. She wondered if now she'd be able to beat her own maths teacher at a few of those algebra questions.

Suddenly she went down on her left heel, bringing herself down heavily on the ground, but still skidded under the poised Garthes, whose horns missed her by a breadth of a hair. She heard it grunt and then heard it scream.

All three of the creatures had crashed full on into each other. They all tumbled, shrieking and roaring as they totalled. Tess rolled onto her side and covered her face with her hands as the ball of Garthes rolled past her. There was a terrible crunching noise and something yelping, whining in pain. A twinge of panic flitted through her, like a stray butterfly. She felt guilty. But she also felt proud, impressed at herself for her own actions. Her actions had saved two lives. Two lives that she was now going to enter.

Rose still had her head buried in the Doctor's chest. She was glad for his arms, wrapped around her tight, his voice whispering in her ear, his head protectively over hers. She was still shaking, her make up completely smeared from tears. Her leg was hurting badly, but she ignored it. Sheer shock had over taken her, made her retreat into herself.

But now she turned and looked at the girl. Her back was to them both and she looked shell shocked. She was shaking and was staring down at her hands. The Doctor was now following her gaze and was too looking at the palms of her hands.

The Doctor stood, still holding Rose tight, steadying her form falling because of her leg. The girl turned to them. She was pale and her eyes were wide. Her hands were glowing brightly, so now they illuminated her face.

Slowly, the Doctor lowered Rose back down to the ground and straightened up, staring at the girl. He reached out with both hands and placed them on her hands.

* * *

Short,I know, but it will be updated as soon as possible with a longer chapter. Please review! 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Learn

Everything seemed to whirl around them. Rose felt positively ill as the world around her spun and a great breeze threw her hair madly. Her head was throbbing and she tried to blink away the dust from her eyes, doing her best to watch the sight.

Both Time Lords stood there, each hand placed upon another, both their eyes glowing bright as some sort of power was being transferred through their hands. Everything seemed to revolve around them, the sun, the Moon...the whole Universe. Centred around two beings. Two beings of immense power and capabilities. Two beings that in some way; controlled the Sun, the Moon and the Universe. They had the most generous gift in their hands, the golden sands of time.

There was a sudden white light and everything went silent. Rose's head went into agonising pain and tears pricked at her eyes. But she still kept her watering eyes on the event in front of her. The two figures were both enveloped in the white light. Rose couldn't see them and had to close her own eyes as the light seemed to get brighter and brighter. She tried to scream, but something invisible had her throat, stopping her from making a sound.

Then, it all ended. To quick for Rose's liking; as it was just like a quick camera shot. One moment the whole world was away in a great white light and then it was gone. No bang, no immense flash, no nothing. It was like a silent movie, where the moment where it all changed there should have been a few words saying 'And then...' or 'What happened next...' Her headache was beginning to numb, just as bad as her leg was. She could see that the blood has seeped through her jeans. Joy, these were her second best jeans...

Rose flicked her eyes up to the Doctor and the girl. The Doctor looked blown away, slightly flabbergasted and tired. But there was no grin on his face. Rose was reminded of the first few seconds of his regeneration at Christmas, when he'd looked slightly shell shocked and worried. But that was an understatement compared to now. Rose wouldn't have been too surprised if he keeled over now and then. She saw that his hands weren't glowing anymore, but his eyes seemed to be sparkling than average eyes. But those eyes had, perhaps, a bit more giveaway to sparkle. After all, they had seen things that no man or woman had ever imagined in their wildest day dream, seen things that would make grown men scream in terror and things that would make even the most macho man break down in solid tears.

The girl was looking the same as the Doctor, though slightly unsteady on her feet. Her hands were no longer glowing, though they were shaking. Her eyes looked somewhat glazed over, as though in a slight daze. Rose's eyes felt like they were on fire, but she kept that to herself. Neither of them said anything.

Then, Rose broke the silence.

"Doctor?" Her voice was weak, but audible and it snapped the Doctor out of his daydream and brought him back down in earth with a heavy thud. It seemed to make the girl come out of something too, but she still stared coldly forwards, not at anyone or at anything, but she seemed to be recalling something, as though suddenly seeing something she hadn't seen before.

"Rose?" He turned down to face her. "Oh yeah, sorry, brain convulsing." He looked down and spotted the blood on her jeans.

"How did that get there then?" He asked, kneeling down beside her and carefully rolling up the leg, drawing a sharp intake of breath. "Ouch."

"At least it's not you who has it." Rose groaned.

"For you, I would take any wound." The Doctor said. Rose smiled at his serious face.

"Likewise."

Rose was about to ask what had just happened. But then the girl gasped out loud, bring both her and the Doctor's attention to her.

"All gone..." She muttered. "Just like that." The Doctor glanced down at Rose and stood up.

"Nothing's left. Apart from us." The girl said, looking into the Doctor's eyes. She could see the tears glimmering in the corners of his eyes, saw the darkness of his iris deepen even further. He suddenly opened his arms wide and the girl fell into them, tears slipping heavily down her cheeks.

After a while, the sobbing had stopped and the girl had pulled away. Looking up into the Doctor's sorrowful face, she asked one question.

"Who are you?"

The Doctor. A single name that would be cemented into her life for the rest of eternity. Tess could only look to the ground as he said this. It made no sense. She had never met him, yet she knew who he was. It was as though he was a childhood book, forgotten, yet familiar.

Now she could only reflect upon the sudden memories that had come to life as she walked behind the Doctor and Rose. She could see the odd drop of blood in the grass as Rose hobbled towards the blue box the Doctor had called the TARDIS.

Tess could be slightly amazed at herself. Why wasn't she running around screaming? Why wasn't she running home, though to a family of breakages, yet to a place she could call home? Now, apparently, it was being left behind. Why wasn't she in tears, missing the arguments? Why the heck did she feel calm about this? But something was overflowing her mind. Memories, short and long, snuggling deep into the gaps of her memory. Everything had seemed normal, almost natural to her.

She kept on wanting to hit herself, wake up, see that this was all some seriously weird dream, but her arm was already red from where she had pinched it over and over again. It hurt.

As the two in front stopped to unlock the door with what looked like a plain and ordinary key, Tess glanced round to the pile of Garthes. They were still struggling madly and one began to roar angrily, in a bottomless frustration. Tess frowned and continued listening.

"YOU SHALL SUFFER! THE GARTHES WILL HAVE YOU HEADS!" Tess winced. Now it was speaking muffled, but nevertheless, English. She flicked her eyes to the TARDIS. It was translating.

Wait...How did she know that?

It was those weird calculations in her head once more, piling on top of each other, figuring out everything that was in sight. Yet again, this seemed normal. Normal as the sky above them.

_Then again_, Tess thought, _is the sky even normal?_

A click and a creak of a door opening told Tess that the TARDIS had been opened. The sound of footsteps on metal followed. Hesitantly, Tess walked forwards and into the open door.

It was as though she was entering paradise. A paradise of green glowing lights and bronze metal shaped and crafted with such craftsmanship it would have brought tears to the odd man's eye. Everything seemed so unusual, but understandable in here. If given the chance, Tess would have turned every dial, pulled every lever, pressed every button and so on. But she kept her ground and waited for Rose and the Doctor.

* * *

Ah, at least there wasn't too much of a cliffie there.

I'd like to thank everyone so far for reviewing on my story! It has been a great help and has pushed me on so much. Please, if you haven't reviewed, but you're reading this, please do! I'd love to know what you're thinking so far of this story. And for the people who are reviewing away, thank you so much and please keep reviewing!

I assure you all, the next chapter will be in ASAP, I just have to try and get my friend, who I am dedicating and writing this for, to proof read.

Thanks again!

TheNextTitan


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Screaming Memories

The Doctor lowered Rose gently onto the seat and propping her leg up, while staring at it closely with his glasses on, the great brown orbs taking in every ruin skin cell and every drop of blood. Then he stood up and surveyed the grey face of his companion.

"Well, it looks worse than it really is, though you might be left with a scar that looks slightly like a mini France." He said, trying to make he grin. He was rewarded with a small smile.

"I'll just go and grab the wound healing thing which tastes dreadful." He said, suddenly frowning and placing his hands on his hips and looking up at the endless ceiling above them. "Now, I might have left it in that compartment next to the ballroom or in the boiling system." He shrugged. "I'll find it. Now, just stay put, don't try to do anything that includes effort, or else you'll bleed over the TARDIS. And we wouldn't want that, now would we?"

"No of course not." Rose said sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the Doctor, who grinned widely and dashed off with a backwards glance. She sighed and looked down at her French looking cut. Sometimes, she had to wonder what the Doctor was seeing in his eyes. She recalled that he spotted a pineapple that had apparently looked like a member of the Galactic Council of the Left Regions of the Right tentacle people.

Now she glanced over and saw the girl staring round.

"Hey." She said, raising a weak hand to her. The Girl looked over and raised a shaky hand back.

"I'm Rose." Rose said, trying to smile, but the stinging sensation was suddenly making her feel queasy.

"I'm Tess. Or, at least I though I was anyway. I don't even know who I am now." She replied. She walked towards her and Rose could suddenly see that there was no fear in her eyes, but some look of dim awareness.

"I can imagine." Rose said. "So, do you...you know...remember much?" Tess glanced up at her and suddenly her deep eyes seemed suddenly intense with a bitter sorrow.

"Very much so." She muttered.

"Sorry, Tess, I didn't mean to make you upset or anything." Rose said. Tess seemed suddenly close to tears but she brought it all back, as though bottling it away to be opened some other time.

"All of this," Tess murmured sadly, sitting down by Rose and staring down at the floor, "All of this is so unreal, yet it all makes sense." She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Why didn't anyone tell me this before? Why leave it 'til today?"

Rose put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Tess could only just sit there, with her head in her hands, looking as sadder then ever and her heart feeling like a stone, sinking deeper and deeper into the lake of her soul.

"Tess, don't feel angry." Rose said quietly. "The Doctor didn't know you even existed, no offence or anything." Tess sighed lowly. "But, he thought he was the last of the Time Lords, he really did. If he had known you were out there, or here," She paused and smiled. "He would have been there in a minute flat. Trust me on this." Tess merely nodded. She couldn't do more. The memories had begun yet again.

_They were screaming. Not out loud, but inside, their souls were screaming like never before. They could see the end, so far yet so close. Hands gripped her shoulders as she twisted her head this way and that, worry flicking at her mind like a pestering fly. There was no way out. Not for them. But for her, there always was. _

_She'd been so young, yet she took this all in as though she were an adult. Tears spilled silently down her face as her own parents piloted the spaceship off the home planet, whisking her away to the further reaches of the time and space dimension. _

_The great whirring of the machine stopped suddenly and her parents lent away from the controls and looked sadly over at their daughter, who was sitting and crying. Her mother came forward and swept her off the ground and held her in a warm embrace. Tears trickled down her face and landed softly into the hair of her child, who wept into her shoulder and held her tight, never wanting to let go. _

_Her father came to her side, prizing her slowly from her mother's arms and he looked intently down at his daughter, his only child, a blessing so young, yet with a mind so progressed. He lowered his lips and kissed her gently on the forehead. There were no tears on his face. But she could see the pain, the bitter agonizing pain in his deep blue eyes, could hear his two hearts beating madly and could almost smell the anxiety in the air around them. _

_Then her mother came by her husband's side and they walked slowly out of the spaceship. There, they lowered their child down on the doorstep of a large house. She bawled for her parents once more, but they had turned their backs on their child. Her mother's red eyes glanced over her shoulder and more tears caressed her cheek and she turned away, walking back into the spaceship. The soft whirring began again and slowly the shape disappeared._

Tess jerked put of her dream with a start and stared around. Rose's arm was still around her shoulder and she was staring worriedly down at her. Tess looked forward and came face to face with the Doctor. Her was looking serious, no grin present on his face and his hands were on her shoulders. A shot of embarrassment ricocheted through Tess. She must have fallen asleep. She merely shook her head and brought the hand up again.

To her surprise, the Doctor grinned. But it didn't meet his eyes.

"How you fell asleep with Rose Tyler sat next to you, must be one heck of a miracle." He exclaimed. Tess gave him a small smile, to Rose as well. He nodded his head and stood.

A sudden occurrence came to Rose's mind.

"Doctor?"

"Hello."

"What about her parents?" Tess raised an eyebrow.

"They weren't my parents." She muttered. "I was adopted."

"They weren't even human." The Doctor said brightly. Tess and Rose looked up at him. He shrugged at them. "Garthes. Merely using some skin copying devices." Rose gaped at him. Tess suddenly shook her head.

"No. You're wrong. They couldn't have been; they were humans. I would have seen it." Tess said defiantly.

"Not if you had matured into your powers, Tess. You've had these, for what, an hour? You've spent you're natural, artificial to be correct in fact, human life with them. You would have never noticed. They would have done anything to do with their alien sides when you weren't there. Plus, Garthes do have the odd occurrence to be able to make them selves invisible." The Doctor said, leaning against the glowing control panel. "Very sophisticated race, surprised they managed to find you, before me of course. I might have given them a head start of course, without me knowing that you were even here."

"So, what happened to the humans?" Rose asked. She didn't need to really ask though, she knew pretty well what was coming.

"They're dead." He said quietly. Tess looked up in alarm, but then something must have clicked in her head, because then she saw what he meant. Knew what they would have done to the real Wilson family. They were dead alright. And no one would have seen or heard. The silent dead.

* * *

The space ship was large, metal and illusion armoured. One minute it was a tree, the next a building or a shop, with a closed sign in the window or door. The people who saw the door open saw a business man carrying a suitcase and looking very prompt. No one saw them come out. Not even the security camera's dotted around.

It was part of the basic defensive mechanism of the Garthes ship. Every time it changed, it sent out a pulse charge to disrupt all technology around. There'd be a short fuzz on the screen and then it'd just return to normal.

Of course, the companies that owned the CTTV cameras sent out a technician to try and sort out these odd breakages in the film, but when reported back, it was said that there was nothing wrong whatsoever with the appliance and that it was in basic top shape.

Now, three business men entered the building, not looking prompt at all. Their ties were lose down their chest and a few bruises were visible on their hands as the opened the doors. One of the businessmen had a great gash on the left side of his head, but no one about managed to spot it.

As the door close behind them, the vacant building around them faded away, revealing a great line of buttons and controls. A small flight of stairs led up to the main controls, which were glowing a soft orange with the odd blur of red.

There was loud grunt as the three businessmen suddenly faded away to revealing the great hulking Garthes, which growled and stomped heavily up the stairs, their hooves banging noisily on the stone floor.

They all stood at the controls and scanned the screens intently.

"What shall we do now?" The middle one growled, whacking his red fist hard on the console. "Both Time Lords lost and nothing from our objectives has been gained!"

"Calm yourself, Brother." The tallest one said, his voice low but calm. "It is not over yet. They have yet to move on before we can track them. Patience is our pain, but yet it can be the greatest of gifts."

"But what if they don't move off again, Tarok?" Tarok frowned at his brother, his amber eyes confused and baffled at his statement.

"Valhalla, I have never heard such nonsense come off you tongue!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air, as though about to strike. "They'll have to move if the want to get away, do you not see? These Time Lords and their pet human, they move for safety. But, what they don't understand is that when the very moment their engines are revived, a wave is sent through the land. We can see this wave, so that we can track."

It was the third's turn to talk now, as he lifted his horned head and opened his mouth.

"Tarok, these Time Lords, they have intelligence beyond the stars, beyond ours in fact. They will not be as so blind as to not notice such a plain trap." He said, his fluffed ears flattening.

"Fear is what drives the enemy out." Tarok replied. "They'll be more afraid of staying then using their advanced intelligence. It is only sense, Karok."

"But...I have heard things about these Time Lords, from many a solider. They have their ways. All that I suggest, Tarok, is that you perhaps have some idea other than that so that when, perhaps, the trap is missed, you shall be able to fall back on the idea and take us to victory!" Karok said, exasperatedly, blowing an added amount of smoke out of his nostrils and tossing his head.

"That will not be needed. This will work, this will lead us to victory. This will take us home with two slaves worthy of the King." Tarok snarled, a short spout of flame accompanying each word. He suddenly looked drained. "We have little time left, Brothers. And if we are too late, it will only be the embrace of death for when we return."

* * *

The Doctor, Rose and Tess all sat in the TARDIS, wondering what they're next plan of action would be. Rose was the big mouth, as plain usual, but Tess also had a valid say in the whole conversation.

"Why...why don't we just get to another time period?" Rose asked, her eyes on her rapidly healing wound as she suggested this. The Doctor shook his head.

"No use." He said, shrugging lowly. Tess nodded.

"Why would that be?" Rose asked, looking up. The wound healing thing, which tasted of rotten cabbage with slimy caviar eggs, was certainly doing what it said it was doing. It looked as though a tiny army of skin was running across the wound, covering it completely as it charged over it. It rippled when it touched the ends of the cut, blending brilliantly in with the tattered skin around it. It only took minutes before her leg was restored to its normal state.

"Well, as far as I know, Garthes pursue their targets. Dunno how, but they do until they get what they want." He said, muttering this as he thought.

"Maybe...Maybe they can read something when the engines start up." Tess said, thinking about this thoroughly.

"True, but that'd mean they'd have to have something a few feet underground if they were measuring vibrations. Then, once we're off the ground, they'd loose us. No, it' something else, something spaceships do when they take off." He said, but not unkindly.

"Sonic boom?" Rose put in. Tess looked up. The Doctor frowned.

"Not a sonic boom...But a sonic transmittance." He grabbed rose and held her in a hug. "I think you must be getting smarter each day!" Rose rolled her eyes at this.

"What, it was a compliment!" The Doctor exclaimed, leaping up and fumbling with the TARDIS controls, Tess beside him.

"If I, the genius of all things great and beautiful," A cough from Rose rained on his parade. "I will be able to manually stop the TARDIS from transmitting the sonic transmittance, then the Garthes won't be able to find us...I hope." He grinned broadly and hopped down underneath the controls of the TARDIS, the sound of the sonic screwdriver echoing around the spaceship. Rose sighed and nodded towards the door, indicating Tess to come.

Both walked out, closing the door carefully behind them. Breathing in the fresh air, Rose stretched her arms, almost yawning as she tipped back her head to sort out her hair. Tess merely peered around, although she was looking for someone that looked suspicious and deadly. Shrugging on her findings that there was no one about, she sat down on the bench next to Rose.

"So, um, where do you come from? On Earth I mean." Rose asked after a short lapse of silence. Tess leaned back in her seat and stared at the sky for a moment, before finally asking.

"I was adopted from a care home in Manchester when I was two, by the Wilson family, well, now the bunch of Garthes. I grew up in London. Near the Powell Estate I think." She replied, looking out onto the houses and flats that looked down on the park. Rose stopped and looked round.

"Powell Estate?" She asked. A sudden uncalled for surge of guilt rushed through her. The Doctor had been looking for years for another Time Lord, but Rose had been near one for the whole of her life. But she shook this away. There was no way they could have told she was there, the Doctor had said about all the things he had done to try and find another of his kind, but of course, people who went round houses asking 'Hello, are you a Time Lord?' were considered to be just that tad bit strange.

* * *

Well, this is the longest chapter I have ever written. Sorry about using the grey line between different scenes. My totally awsome stars aren't allowed on here. The next chapter will be usp ASAP, but please do keep in mind I'm trying to get them as long as this one! Please review, they are greatly thanked for! Thanks to all the guys that have been reviewing, please continue doing so!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Fiery Memories

The Doctor frowned as he tugged at wires madly, yanking them out of their sockets with a harsh crack of static. He zapped the open spaces with his sonic screw driver, forming the holes together to make one big one. Stuffing the screw driver back into his pocket, he placed the wires carefully down and picked up a thick cylinder shaped tin. He carefully locked this into the hole and gave a few taps and zaps, before it finally held. Grabbing the wires again, he began to tighten them together before her eased this into the cylinder. There was a small clunk, before a soft hiss of electricity announced that it was working. Grinning, he turned over on his side and wriggled out of the space and climbed up onto the control floor where he saw a red light flashing. Patting the TARDIS affectionately, he said out loud, "Good girl. We'll get out of this in no time." He smiled and walked out of the doors. A soft sigh whistled through the TARDIS.

---------

Valhalla looked at the device that sat in front of him with a dull look on his face. For many hours he had sat there, waiting for their prey's ship to begin. But, to no avail. His ears flattened against his grizzly hair as he yawned, each fang shown as his lips slid under his teeth.

A sudden bang behind him made him jump and he whirled round wildly, growling menacingly and letting smoke flow out of his nostrils. Karok walked in, looking just as frustrated as he felt.

"Anything?" He asked. Sucking the smoke from the air in front of him through his mouth, Valhalla shook his head. Karok growled and struck his hoof out, colliding it with Valhalla's chair.

"Why does Tarok keep us from attacking their ship? We know what and where it is! We could simply seize them!" He roared.

"My thoughts are the same, brother, but I am also guessing that Tarok has a good reason. We cannot fail our mission or so do we all pay the price." Valhalla growled, the sadness gripping the words in a tight hold. Karok snarled.

"Why do we not just leave the Sacred King? Can we not find some distant planet and call it home!" He cried desperately, the horns on his head brandishing with the last word as Karok tossed his head. Valhalla seemed only to glare to this, before he calmed and replied, "We are bound to him. We serve him as our Father before us. We cannot fail him, nor can we just flee him. He has his ways, just as any King of the Garthes. We walk alone and yet we serve the King as we would a Brother. So, you must understand that we are here for a purpose. We are here for our King." He clenched his fist tightly in front of Karok's face before turning sharply away to stare at the device. Karok looked appalled and opened his fanged mouth indignantly to prove some other point or way around this, but even he saw none.

He turned abruptly and walked out of the room, small flecks of flames spitting from his mouth. He went down the trail of stairs and down further into the ship, muttering under his breath as he turned corners and opened doors. Finally, he came to a stop and looked up at the glass door that he was about to enter. Upon the glass were symbols, an unreadable language to some alien kind, but perfect for the Garthes. Weapons.

_If they will not see sense, _Karok thought bitterly, _then I will show them sense in the form of two Time Lords and a Human._

-------

Rose grinned at the look on the Doctor's face as he stepped out of the TARDIS, so happy and bright. He hadn't seen him like this in ages, not since they had travelled back to save Madame Pompadour a few weeks ago. A slight pang of jealousy hit her mind, but she shook it away.

"Ready to go then?" She asked.

"You bet." He replied, smiling widely. Then he caught Tess's eye. "Could you wait inside the TARDIS for a mo, Rose?" Rose looked between them and then caught the gist.

"Yeah sure." She began to walk in when she was stopped again.

"Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor."

"Don't touch anything." Rose puffed her cheeks out at him and strode in, the door banging shut behind her. The Doctor cringed and suddenly had the impulse to go up and soothe the TARDIS, but he held that back and turned to face Tess, who was looking down at the grass.

"Not very useful here," The Doctor started, bending down and plucking a few blades out of the ground and holding them up. "I, however, know of a planet of 6 billion light years away that in comprised of the stuff. Every inch, completely covered in wonderful grass. But the people there, very friendly bunch, use it to make wigs, build houses, weave clothes...anything. But you see, they don't have any water or any other plants or life sources on the planet. So, after a couple of centuries, they get bored and all kill each other. Just for that bit of fun." He laughed sadly. "Imagine that. Stuck on a huge planet where the view is all the same." Tess grinned.

"The hopelessness of grass has been lifted." She said.

"And replaced with a nice little death penalty." The Doctor concluded, flicking the grass away and standing back up straight. The smiles faded away. The Doctor sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

"Do...do you want to ask me anything?" He asked. Tess stared down again.

"Why now? Why didn't this all happen ages ago?" She finally said, piecing the silence like a black arrow in the night. The Doctor looked up to the sky and then down again.

"A Time Lord that has been separated from the rest at a young age is set into a kind of age mode. When you get to a certain age, such as you are now, Time gives itself a kick and reboots the whole Time Lord system. And, hey presto, you're now a Time Lord." The Doctor explained. Tess seemed only to laugh silently.

"Why didn't the Garthes get me sooner? I mean, they practically raised me!" She asked again.

"Mostly the same, you weren't a Time Lord yet, so they couldn't really just whisk you away for no apparent reason." He replied, plopping down on the bench.

"So, if they knew I was going to be, or was a Time Lord, how come you didn't find me sooner?" She asked uncertainly.

The Doctor froze, his face suddenly stern and sorrowful. A question that he'd been thinking every since he'd known it was the Garthes and that Tess was a Time Lord. Something he'd thought that was impossible was now standing in front of him, asking him a question that even he, the Doctor couldn't answer.

"I...I never knew." He muttered. "I thought that all of the Time Lords were gone. I saw them all die, right in front of my eyes I watched my people die." The Doctor suddenly seems lost in his won nightmare, his eyes glazed over with sorrow and despair. Tess felt a cringe of guilt. She should have shut up there and then, shouldn't have asked that question. She now understood the pain. It was horrendous, as though a permanent stabbing in the heart with every fiery memory of that battle, of the end.

The Doctor suddenly snapped out of it, as though an invisible hand had slapped him round the face.

"Anyway..." He said, getting to his feet and brushing the creases out of the back of his jacket forcefully, "I was more on the thought of what would you like to ask me about what you are now? Anything feel, well, that's just a stupid question; everything must feel odd at the moment." Tess laughed.

"No, although I feel like my head is going to explode and that I feel really out of place, I'm good." She replied, smiling a small, happy smile. The Doctor returned this with his brilliant beaming smile and gestured towards the TARDIS.

"Want a ride?"

--------

Karok breathed in the fresh air outside, filing his lungs with the much needed oxygen for his combustion chamber to ignite, warming him instantly. His skin flared a bright red and his intelligent amber eyes glowed with a sudden thrill. The thrill of the hunt.

He carried a long spear-like weapon in his hand. Round its top was a sharp, glowing head, with metal strands wrapped around its thick bottom, welding it to the long pole. The head seemed to set alight as Karok held it tightly, as though suddenly joint with his mind and emotions. Around his waste was a thick belt, resembling to be made of some skin of a touch animal. It was a faint, battered green and in its straps were sharper knives, its blades carved out of the same substances as the spear head. They too, were glowing eerily, but much softer than the spear head.

In one particular pouch was a small tube, filled to the rim with a blue shimmering liquid. As Karok moved, the liquid sloshed lazily around in the tube, but if looked closely at, small, screaming faces could be seen, tearing at the surface with their gaunt eyes, their wide mouths gawped in a silent scream. Then the face twisted away, dragged back into the blue. If anyone, such as the Doctor or some other species of alien had encountered the Garthes before, they'd know that this terrible substance was called The Tears of the Dead. Its real name was hidden among history and in a language only few Garthes could read.

Karok placed his hand on the tube thoughtfully as he prowled into the forest, devising a suitable plan of action. He spotted no space ship, only those odd blue boxes. They had already confirmed this was human, what they called a Police Box. But Karok had read something different about Time Lords and their technology.

Time Lords, being elements of Time and Space, could of course, travel through Time and Space. That was simple, but their selected use of spacecraft was not so. It had been rumoured that each space craft had a time vortex, the source of the universe. Everything had time vortex, living things, objects, and space, literally everything. This was because everything is made by Time and Space, which basically meant that everything came from a Time Vortex.

So, if these Time Lord Spacecrafts could travel through Time and Space, the Time Vortex would have to adapt to the time it was heading towards. It was a visible camouflage.

But, this box was of a younger time, not of this modern age. Karok growled, but noted the fact that his weapon in his hand was beginning to pull him towards the box. Grunting angrily, he followed, the pole heaving his body with an invisible force, towards the Police Box.

* * *

Hey guys, long time no update. Sorry, I just haven't really got round to typing up the next chapter. But, here it is, so lets all be happy and please review, seeing as my story has had loads of hits and yet so many of you haven't reviewed... TT

Thanks to all the people who have been reviewing. Each word was taken into accound and was thought of when I writing this. So, please keep reviewing, because I am so happy, something I don't do much anymore, so please -does faltering impression of puppy dog eyes-

Next chapter to be up soon!


	8. Chapter 8

Ok, I forgot to do this at the beginning of the whole story (Sorry!) so I'll do it now.

Doctor Who Characters are Copyright to BBC. Tess and any other characters that have been created by me, are Copyright to me. So, please do not steal, or else I shall set the Cybermen on you.

* * *

Chapter 8: Tears of the Dead 

The night seemed sudden as it fell upon London, wounding itself round buildings and trees, suddenly giving them black shadowy skins. In the park, a few orange street lights glowed dimly, casting their colour all around where the light touched the ground. Moths and other light attracted insects gathered around these lights, their fast beating wings visible only in orange.

The TARDIS sat quietly, looking odd against the modern surrounding. The plump pigeon that was perched upon it was sleeping happily under its wing, its head nestled deep in the feathers. Pigeons don't regularly have dreams, so this was nothing unusual until the pigeon fell down in front of the TARDIS, dead as a door knob, its wings still folded neatly in.

Karok snorted a plume of smoke from his nostrils in comical manner, but his eyes were fixed on the door. He was crouched low to the ground, ignoring the persistent tug of the spear. His fangs were poking slowly out from his upper lip, their roots growing their gums. A predator, seeking its prey.

Karok had traded his claws for retractable fangs, had traded his hooves for great red pawed feet. He was unique compared to his two brothers. So, while his brothers resided their confidence in knowledge and strategies, his faith was for his own instinct. And now his instinct was to take action and fulfil his own plan.

Raising his spear, his closed his eyes. His paw like fingers closed tightly round the deep brown wood and breathed out slowly.

A low, dimming red glow enveloped the spear, tracing the outline of the powerful weapon. The same light began to travel round his own body outline. His ears were cocked forward and his head tipped back, before he finally breathed back in. Karok opened his eyes ever so slowly, the glow filtering past his eye lids as they slid over his lit eyeballs. A sharp flicker of a grin flickered over his face before his stood, the glow throbbing with his pulsing heart.

Pointing a finger at the dead bird, he muttered something under his breath. Slowly, it too was absorbed by the red glow and raised slowly off the ground, floating away from the TARDIS and towards Karok. Then, he drew his finger above his head and brought it swishing back down so that it returned to its starting point, point directly at the TARDIS.

The dead pigeon followed, tumbling down through the air, like a puppeteer loosing control and smacked straight into the TARDIS with a sickening crunch.

Now, it was time for the prey to come out of its hiding place and to be caught...For good.

--------

The Doctor scratched his head and yawned, but he knew already there would be no sleep tonight. He sighed and got up to go and get Rose to bed. As he saw he curled up in the chair that sat in the control room, he smiled briefly before going up to shake her gently awake.

There was a moan and a hand briefly flapped him away before she finally woke up, her eye lids opening to see her gleaming eyes.

"Hey, get to bed, big day tomorrow." The Doctor whispered kindly, his hand still on her shoulder. Rose grunted and sat up. She was too tired to ask what was so big that made tomorrow a big day, but she knew that when she woke up tomorrow, she'd be sure to find out.

She stood up, stretching her arms and yawning and shook her hair off her face, smiling happily at the Doctor.

"Where's Tess?" She asked, her voice quiet and hoarse.

"In her room." The Doctor said. "Next to yours. I think she's asleep, but when you go by...could you...you know..."

"Check in on her?" Rose said, filling in the gap. The Doctor looked sheepishly up at her. "Sure." He grinned broadly. Rose returned the gesture and began to head towards her room, tiredness clawing at her eyes.

That was when they heard the thud on the door. Both the Doctor and Rose froze, unsure of what to think of it. They both waited for it to happen again, but the sheer agony of the suspense was too great. The Doctor turned and walked quickly over to the door, slowing as he got closer to it. Slowly and steadily, he pressed himself against the wood and listened carefully.

Rose whispered across to him.

"Can you hear anything?" The Doctor shook his head.

Suddenly there was another thud and a sound of something being crushed against the outside of the TARDIS. The Doctor made a face at this, grimacing at the thought of what it could be.

Rose crept to his side, her face stern and slightly worried. The Doctor kept his ear against the door for a few more seconds, before he pushed off and pulled the door open.

It happened in a flash.

The Doctor was suddenly pulled out of the door by an invisible force, bringing him hard down on the ground with a yell. A pair of glowing eyes flashed before a Garthes leapt out of the bushes, roaring in victory. Rose screamed, running out of the TARDIS, pulling the door shut behind her and she bounded towards the Garthes, who had a vial of blue liquid in its hand.

Rose yelled out and grabbed a thick stick on the ground and brought it hurling down on the Garthes back. The stick throbbed madly in her hands for a moment, before it snapped completely in two, falling down on to the ground. The Garthes let out a pain ridden roar and turned sharply round, the bottle cork coming loose and the liquid flying out, soaring through the air, the screaming faces wide and terrifying.

The Doctor screamed something, his eyes wide and fearful yet again for the second time that day, but this time a real fear was spreading rapidly through him as he watched helplessly as the blue liquid hit Rose straight in the face.

--------

Tess jerked awake from her nightmare, sitting straight up in bed, sweat dripping down her face, eyes wide and full of terror. Her breathing was harsh, coming in sharp breaths, making her cough madly. Her head was spinning and it felt as though her mind was on fire. Images of the horrors of her dream kept lunging out at her, the creatures trying to bring her back to their hot smelling breath, their bloody fangs and their wretched eyes, so full of desperate hunger and fiery rage.

She tried to shake it away and slowly slid out of bed. She was still fully dressed and only had to slip on her shoes. The laces seemed to cut into her foot, even though she had tied them as gently as possible without them coming loose. Standing up, she brushed out the creases in her top and walked slowly out of her room, dragging her fingers through her hair and putting her hands over her face trying to block out the nightmare, but the darkness only seemed to let it in.

Tess continued on walking up the many stairs and corridors that were hidden in the TARDIS, often coming to a dead end or more doors that she felt were the wrong way, but she finally managed to seek out the control room. It was empty.

A feeling that made her feel unsafe and scared suddenly washed over her. Where were they? She looked down through the grills below her, expecting to see the pair or just the Doctor working endlessly to fix some random circuit that had blown. But no, neither of them were there. Then, she heard the screams from outside and instantly knew they were screams of happiness.

She darted across the room and flung open the door, letting it swing shut behind her as she stopped in the night air.

--------

Rose felt the unnaturally cold shudder as it spread over her face. It was like a thousand ice cubes tumbling down on her, making her go cold all over. Suddenly she couldn't feel her limbs and collapsed down on the ground, shaking with cold and fear. She wanted to reach out and cry to the Doctor, but she couldn't make a noise. She couldn't hear her own rasping breaths, couldn't feel her head hit the ground. Her eyes began to dim, slowly, making everything black and white, making everything blurry.

It was as though she was shutting down, everything going limp and lifeless, only her brain kept her body alive. She could still feel her cold skin, knew that it would be pale and ghostly. She was fighting desperately not to slip away, but the urge was growing and the force to keep her eyes open was slowly draining her.

Before she had another thought of panic and worry, she felt something warm trickle down her cheek, reminding her of the cold winter days when she got into a hot bath. But, it didn't have the same effect and she remained cold and empty.

Finally,Rose Tylerwas defeated. Her eyes slowly closed and her head lolled to one side.

* * *

Wow, that was a extrememly evil cliffie, but I have to keep you all reading somehow and, sadly, this is how I do it...Thanks to all the people who have been reviewing, it is greatly appericiated and to people who are just reading this, please say what you think! I really need to know or else I don't know what will make you happy and what wont make you happy. 

Thanks to all the readers and reviewers, next chapter will be up ASAP!

TheNextTitan


	9. Chapter 9

Hello, this is Tess here, Chloe long-suffering proof-reader (who she doesn't always use...)

I decided that I wanted to write here. Just to say hello and tell you that Chlo is very proud of this chappyter (I should know, I was there when she wrote it) and so please be kind and review and tell her what YOU think and stuff...

Anyway, on with the story, goodbye!

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Chapter 9: Welcome to the Fallen Age

The Doctor scrambled to his feet, running blindly towards the fallen Rose. Everything seemed to have gone distant and the sound of yelling echoed all around him. It was only until he heard Tess's scream that he stopped and everything seemed to come roaring down on him.

"DOCTOR, STOP!"

The Garthes loomed in front of him, its teeth bared in a vicious grin as it readied to throw the substance at him. The Doctor skidded to a halt and fell down hard on the already dewy grass. There was a laugh from above him and the Garthes loomed over him, its eyes alight.

"Foolish Time Lord," It growled. "You may have evaded my brothers, but I saw through the accident and saw the prime target." It nodded its hairy head towards Rose. The Doctor eyes flashed menacingly, but he was too speechless to reply. Instead, he reached into his front jacket pocket and whipped out the sonic screwdriver. The Garthes was taken aback, unsure of what it was, but still remained frozen to the spot.

With a twist, the Doctor pressed the button down and prepared himself.

It was as though someone was screaming. The Garthes covered its ears and roared, the bottle falling from his hands and tipping into the ground. The sound continued on. Tess was leaning heavily against the TARDIS, her fingers jammed tightly in her ears and her face screwed up in pain. The Doctor's face remained full of rage as he pressed the button hard, letting the sonic screwdriver go to full power.

The Garthes fell to its knees and began to whine pitifully, actual tears beginning to form in the corner of its eyes. The sound filled the park and lights began to flick on in buildings, people hanging out of their windows, trying to peer through the darkness to see the commotion, but could only see the silhouette of the trees against the sky. Some yelled rude curses, waving fists in the air because slamming shut their windows.

The scream pitched and sonic screwdriver began to glow brighter and brighter, shaking in the Doctor's gripping hands. Tess and the Garthes screamed out loud, both unheard over the horrible noise.

Finally the Doctor released the button and the sound stopped abruptly, but the ringing continued and a small amount of blood was tricking down from one of his ears. Tess fell down to the ground, still leaning against the TARDIS, breathing harshly from the pain, her eyes watery and red.

The Garthes took its hands off its furry ears, which were pinned firmly back to its head and let his arms hang by his side. It too was panting but as it turned it head slowly to face to Doctor, its teeth bared and it snarled, before its eyes rolled back into its head and it slumped on the ground.

The Doctor got slowly to his feet, tucking the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket, a hard cold glare setting his face like stone. Then he diverted his attention back to the matter in hand and began to race over to Rose.

Her skin was icy cold to touch and her breathing was so minimal that the Doctor could barely see her chest rise and fall. The Doctor face was stern and worried as he slipped his arms under her stiff body and lifted her off the ground. He shuddered mentally. It felt like he was carrying a corpse.

Tess stumbled over to the Doctor, looking shaken and tired.

"Tess, grab the bottle and hurry!" The Doctor said quickly, cradling Rose and rushing into the TARDIS. Tess reached down, careful of not to let the liquid touch her skin. She stood straight again and let the substance trickle slowly down to the bottom, before carrying it gently into the TARDIS.

--------

Valhalla walked alongside Tarok, monitoring the complicated sums and radars with intelligent eyes. Tarok however was looking around, his fists clenched and brow furrowed. He growled and moved swiftly forward towards a large crystal-like stone. It was gleaming, its red shine glowing in the dim light. In the very middle of the stone, there was a small, yellow symbol, which was beating with an inaudible rhythm.

Valhalla raised his head to Tarok's face, which was focused, emotionless and still. He frowned and looked to the stone, then watched with a spark of panic as he raised his large, pawed hand to the stone and placed it on its polished surface.

It began slowly, a small humming filling the room, but almost like a buzzing noise, like a fly zooming past your ear. Then it began to grow, turning suddenly into a roaring wind, but not even a breeze came. It was just the sound, as though the stone was holding the wind inside, but was letting the sound escape out to them.

"What are you doing, Tarok?" Valhalla roared over the wind. Tarok ignored him, still concentrating on the crystal. Valhalla growled and remained still. The crystal was the source of the ships fuel and energy, everything that made the ship move was stored inside a Kra'fa stone, a never ending source of power. But, if Tarok touched the energy, it would die away and they could never return home.

The yellow symbol in the stone began to spin rapidly, becoming nothing more than a glowing blur. Then it was beginning to float, bashing against the sides of the stone. The light in the ship began to flicker and a one burst into pink flames.

"Tarok! Stop this!" Valhalla cried, ducking as the flames soared over him. The symbol was now fighting to get out, smashing hard at the sides and causing the surface to crack. Tarok pushed his hand harder on the Kra'fa.

There was a great burst of light followed by a flow of fast wind, which began to push its way through the ship. Valhalla was thrown back and smashed against the wall, dazed and fearful. Instruments were wrenched from the ground and they too collided heavily with the walls, leaving great dents and scratches in them, like wounds that were jagged and dirty.

Tarok was absorbed by the light, roaring as he was embedded in it. There was a hiss like the sound of steam and great gusts flew back. Then a yellow light filled the room.

Valhalla raised his bloodied head and saw the symbol seeping out of the stone, slowly gliding through the air and straight at Tarok. Valhalla winced in pain as he arched his neck to see what had become of the symbol, but Tarok's back was turned to him and his great shoulders hid the symbol from Valhalla's bloodshot eyes.

There was a soft growl. The sound shattered through the air like a scream, but was even more terrifying. Valhalla had his ears flat to his head as he asked in a worried tone, "Tarok, what have you done?" Tarok's powerful arms were raised, as though about to embrace a long lost friend, but as he turned, Valhalla saw that the gesture was nothing more but a menacing evil glare.

The symbol that had once been in the Kra'fa was now throbbing slowly on Tarok's bare chest, the skin around it burnt and somewhat blackened, as though it had been branded there with a white hot steel iron. No pain showed in Tarok's eyes, only an evil malice as he maddened wide fanged smile glimmered with spit in the dim light.

"Why, my dear Valhalla, I have become supreme." He said. His voice was slick, almost dripping with slime as he slid the words off his tongue. "I have become the supreme ruler." Valhalla wanted to gape, but his jaw still was throbbing with pain from the hit with the wall.

"What do you mean, Tarok?" He growled, trying hard to get to his feet, but he had only to realise that one of the large instruments had his feet pinned to the ground. He could just see the blood in the darkness.

"Do you not see? Valhalla, I thought you were the smarter of the three. No matter," Tarok growled, cricking his knuckles unpleasantly as he began to advance slowly onto his younger brother. "I shall tell you." He stopped right in front of Valhalla, and crouched low to the ground.

"I no longer wish to fear our King, I no longer wish to serve him for these tireless deeds." He growled, the hate suddenly clear in his cold eyes. "Our reward for our missions is the fact that we get to keep our lives. But no more shall I bow down to a King so unworthy as he."

Valhalla looked wide-eyed at him.

"You're...you're going to kill him..." He whined. Tarok smiled, careful to show every yellowed fang that was hidden under his red lips.

"That's the Valhalla I know." He muttered. He looked at the expression on Valhalla's face with mingled fury and confusion. "Why do you see this as so wrong, brother? You know as well as I that the King is nothing more then a blind black-hearted tyrant!" But still, Valhalla gazed up at him with shock and despair in his face.

"You may know me, brother." He said quietly, his eyes suddenly full of sorrow. "But I no longer know you. You are not the Tarok I grew up with. You're no better than the King!"

Tarok looked as though something had whacked him hard around the face. He was growling, but still Valhalla continued.

"What has happened to you brother? What treachery has turned you into this...this monster?"

"My life, Valhalla. Our lives. The whole monarchy and loss of our home has turned me against myself, turned me into this monster. But I do not see it as a monster. I see it as a gift, a will. The very will that shall aid me to destroy our King and put him in his rightful place. Below the great tombs of our previous Kings." He snarled. Valhalla finally let his jaw drop, though it caused him pain.

"Then you commit treason." He growled, beginning to tug at his foot. It came free and the large wound became clear. "For that, I must commit the penalty of treason." He raised his hand. There was a short whistle and a black, glowing spear came to his outstretched fingers.

"You would kill your own brother, Valhalla?" Tarok asked. "Kill the one that protected you from all harm?"

"No, Tarok. I wouldn't kill my own brother." Valhalla replied. He stood firm and raised his spear, ready for battle. "I would kill the monster that was my brother."

--------

The Doctor stared sorrowfully down at Rose. His eyes were full of a bitter sadness, but no tears accompanied the sadness. Just guilt, a wolf that was biting in his chest, its ravenous rage fighting at the hope. He wanted to punch something, but he remained somewhat calm and quiet, though the urge to shout and scream at himself was becoming more tempting by the second.

They were in Rose's room, Rose tucked up in bed, her faintly blue face and lips unmoving, almost dead. The Doctor sat at the side of her stiff legs, holding her cold hand, trying to keep it as warm as he could.

Minutes had gone by since Rose had turned this way, yet to the Doctor, it seemed like endless hours.

There was a gentle knock at the door and Tess walked in, carrying a tower of five hot water bottles in her arms. The Doctor placed Rose's hand on the bed and got up to take a few of the hot water bottles off Tess.

Together, they eased Rose up and placed them underneath her, creating a small line of multicoloured rubber bottles which ran from the bottom of her spine to the very tips of her freezing toes. They finally pulled the thick quilt back over her again, this time tucking both her hands under and pushed it tight around her body. Tess grimaced as she felt the cold through the top of the quilt.

Finally, they sat down on the chairs that were placed in the room, both pairs of eyes fixed on Rose with what seemed to be silent anguish. Finally, Tess asked the one question that had been buzzing in her head for the past quarter of an hour.

"Doctor...What has happened to...to Rose?" She asked, wincing at the pauses, almost not wanting to know. The Doctor sighed and ran another hand through his hair. He began to speak, but his eyes remained fixed on Rose.

"Every part of her life essence has been wiped away from her, leaving her to become a shell. An empty shell. If she did awake, we wouldn't know her. She wouldn't know us. Everything that makes Rose, everything that keeps her going...Is gone." His voice was bland, almost as lifeless as Rose. Tess looked shock and her eyes glazed over.

"Tears of the Dead." The Doctor muttered, a sharp sting of hate in his tone now. "Used on prey, on convicts." He looked sadly to the ground. "On the innocent." Tess looked sadder than ever. Her whole face seemed to fall.

"Convicts?" She asked. The Doctor looked to her suddenly.

"Every species has a bad egg...Or eggs even." He said. "Even the Garthes. But, they of course, don't want anyone to escape their prison, so the cover them with stuff and leave them to rot. The Garthes are not known for their mercy, only for the fact that they seemed to keep it in low supply." Tess suddenly felt a bite of anger in her throat. But she knew, as well as the Doctor did, that the time for anger would have to be later, for ahead of them, was a great storm, just waiting to happen.

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Yet, another cliffie, but not as bad as the last few. Thanks to my proof-reader's commet. Sorry to all the people who were expecting a bit more focusing on Rose, but I felt I needed to explain what was happening at the ship. Yes, I do get what some of you are thinking, for I was thinking it when I was writing it. The sudden 'Tarok is evil' change is a bit too rapid, but I felt that the time was now. Plus, I also meant in my writing that when Tarok said that they wouldn't go and hunt for them, was when he was thinking about what he could do.

On other ending matters, please do enjoy my story and please review!

TheNextTitan


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Spears and Fears Always End In Tears

Karok growled. His ears were sore and bloody, his fur matted and knotted where the blood had settled and hardened. He had been slightly winded by the fall, but he stood, his legs stiff and aching. He whipped round suddenly, expecting the Time Lords to be behind him, but he saw nothing. Even their spaceship had moved away.

He stamped the ground in frustration and hissed through his teeth. He thrust out his arm and there was a soft hum before his spear came floating eerily towards him. Its head was glowing red and the wood of the spear was cold in his grip.

Karok noticed this immediately and stroked the spear head, trying to see the source of the problem. As the claw of his finger touched the stone, it gave a great crackle of energy and whipped him with what looked like a bolt of orange lightning. He gave a snarl of pain and plunged the spear in the ground.

Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

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The spear slid through the air and hit on target, bedding deep into soft flesh. Blood caressed the head and began to pour from the point of entry. Tarok growled, but a haunting grin still remained on his face, as though it was stuck firm there forever more. He placed both his hands on the end of the spear and wrenched it out of his ribs. More blood seeped out, but he seemed not to care.

Valhalla stared dumfounded as the spear clattered to the floor and Tarok held a finger to his wound, letting the blood wet his finger before holding it up to Valhalla.

"You wish to watch me die, brother? Then, please, have my blood to cover your hands with!" He cried. He leapt straight at the horrified Valhalla, the now bloody hand poised outstretched. Valhalla began to duck, but Tarok caught him midway.

The bloody paw smeared across his chest, right before Valhalla managed to throw Tarok off with an upward kick from his large hooves. Tarok landed heavily on his side, smacking his head hard on the step, but he still stood firmly up, brushing the dust off his still bleeding wound and laughing quietly.

Valhalla was looking fearfully down, where blood was now slowly trickling down his chest. He so wanted to brush it off, but it would mean getting it on his hands, which would put him under the restraints of murder.

Tarok's soft laughter brought him sharply back to reality as he stared up at his brother. But before he could say anything, Valhalla cried for his spear again. Tarok, however, was ready for this and he turned sharply round, clasping his pawed hands around the wood of the spear, halting it just before it sunk between his eyes. The spear began to shake, trying to continue its path and began to spark with energy. Tarok held it back still and twisted it round before raising it above his knee.

"NO!" Valhalla roared, leaping up and launching himself on Tarok, making him fall forwards and letting the weapon fly forwards. Tarok snarled and drew his elbow back, letting it collide into Valhalla's muzzle. There was a sickening crunch and Valhalla fell, holding his hands over the collision point, blood seeping slowly through his fingers, leaving droplets on the sandy floor.

Tarok whirled round, his claws slipping out of his fingers. Slashed red lines appeared on Valhalla's arm and he snarled, before slipping his own claws out and slashing them across Tarok's chest. Each claw sank in, ripping through skin, muscle and tissue. Tarok let out a roar of pain and stumbled back, clutching the four jagged lines that now were dripping more blood.

Letting go of his broken muzzle, Valhalla got to his feet, the sheer anger and bitter hate glowing in his bloodshot eyes. His whole body language spoke outward before his voice, the tense muscles, the balled fists and the hooves primed, ready to slam into anything that opposed him as a threat.

"You've fought your last battle, Tarok!" He roared, the sudden noise echoing round the dark ship. "Many a day you may have thought of this plan, but this day, this very hour, I shall end it!" Tarok spat, flecks of blood flying forth as he snapped, "Noble words from a murderer, Valhalla. Noble, yet meaningless! There is not a cell in your cowardly body that has the power to stop this." He stumbled forwards. "Many a year ago, I would have thought more of you, but now, as you have aged, you become more foolish and blind, scared of the universe and its threats that stand up against you. But this is just nonsense, pure and utter arrogance to my plan!"

"It is no nonsense, Tarok!" Valhalla replied, "I would rather think of it as rebelling!"

"Rebelling?" Tarok, though weak from the last wound, threw back his head and laughed. "Valhalla, do not know such a thing. No, you are idle. Your arrogance stops you from seeing the many lives I am saving. I am over throwing the King, brother, for the people, not for my own outcome." Valhalla seemed unaffected by this, but his mind had suddenly jolted to a stop. Tarok looked sorrowed as he spoke the next words, so sorrowed that Valhalla began to believe him.

"Many warriors, many of the innocent are killed each sunrise. You remember Harisk? Junoa? Both great soldiers that fought endlessly by our side. Then, the King saw them unfit, along with most of their brothers and were sent to death. Death by sacrifice. Sacrifice for nothing!" He growled, stamping his hoof down angrily. "The King believes that the blood of the young, the old, the guilty and the innocent will appease the so-called demon that lives among us, spreading chaos and havoc through our lands." Valhalla shook his head, lowering his spear in disbelief. Tarok continued.

"The very Frozen Fire Mountains are the slaughter place. We are told to not go there because of the scare of the fire breaking free and eating us alive, but, I followed a group many months ago." His eyes seemed to glaze over. "A beautiful place lies there, where the tallest flames loom over, frozen, yet still warm. But, every beautiful thing has a spot of grim ugliness. That grim ugliness, Valhalla, is where they drain the blood of our friends and fellow people."

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Tess and the Doctor stood in the control room, both having leaving Rose's side to try to work out the reverse antidote to the substance. They now stood looking closely at the bottle, both squinting, the Doctor with his glasses out and looking closer and closer at the liquid. Tess had already seen a face press against the glass before swirling away, making her jump. The Doctor saw no surprise in this, but only a dark look shadowed over his face.

"She'll be in here." He muttered. "It may be her face next." Tess looked grimly at the bottle, and then looked back to the Doctor, a frown plastered on her face.

"But, if the stuff is inside Rose, how did her life essence get back in there?" She asked. The Doctor raised his eyebrows but he answered as kindly as ever.

"This stuff, evil of course, but is pretty clever. Though the Tears of the Dead, as it is formally called, looked like it went inside Rose, all it actually did was..." He paused, lost suddenly before continuing, "Suck the life essence out of her and then turn to vapour before returning to the bottle and joining the rest of the poor souls in here. Boomerang effect." Tess raised her own eyebrows at this and they both continued to search in silence. Tess kept seeing the faces, but none of them looked like Rose.

Suddenly, the Doctor stiffened his eyes fixed on the bottle. Tess peered closely and then could have gasped out loud, if the sheer horror hadn't made her as silent as the grave. The Doctor, however, went straight into action, raising the sonic screw driver to the glass and turned it on. The Tears of the Dead rippled, but seemed to stop, as though frozen. Rose's haunting face remained against the glass. The Doctor took off the cork lid, a sheer look of determination on his face.

"Tess," He said, looking up at her. "Take me to Rose straight after."

"Straight after what?" Tess asked, the uncertainty in her voice. The Doctor didn't reply, but instead, jammed his finger in the bottle, his long finger tip touching Rose's face. The effect was immediate. The Doctor's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he toppled down to his knees, his whole body going limp. Before he collapsed down to the ground, he put the bottle up right, making sure it didn't spill before going completely, sinking deep into the same state as Rose.

Tess yelled out loud, falling to her knees as well and shaking the Doctor's shoulder. He already felt cold, as though the warmth had been sucked out as well. Tess drew her hand back, unsure of what to do.

_Take me to Rose_

Tess carefully moved the bottle out of the way, put her arms under the Doctor's and began to heave him back through the TARDIS, worry flitting through her like a sickly drug. She hated every minute of the experience, hated the sound of his feet being dragged across the floor, hated the icy cold touch of his skin and hated seeing his head loll from side to side. The whole situation reminded her of an event many years ago; when she had seen someone struck by a car and watched with fear as the victim was dragged to the pavement and given CPR, but to no avail. She remembered having to walk past the spot, saw the flowers and the soft toys. That someone had been her only friend.

Trying to shake away the thoughts, she continued to pull the Doctor towards Rose's room. But the thoughts were now building, as though they were horrible creatures, breaking the surfaces of her mind, creating horror and sorrow. She was brought back to Earth by her back pushing against Rose's door. Carefully, she let the door swing open and dragged the Doctor inside.

Now what was she supposed to do? Two practically dead people to look after and no idea what to do. Then, that nagging pull motion on her brain began again and she saw the conclusion. Pulling the chair towards Rose's bed with her foot, she pushed the Doctor into it and put him close to Rose's side. Then, she carefully took Rose's hand out from her duvet and placed it close to the Doctor. She too the Doctor's hand and placed it on top of Rose's hand.

Their hands began to shimmer a faint blue and both twitched. Tess gave a broad grin then stepped out of the room. It would be a long process. By Rose's life essence being in the Doctor, it would begin to transfer back into Rose. But, the Doctor's life essence was out of him. Tess frowned then darted back to the bottle. Staring desperately at the liquid, she searched for his face. He wasn't there.

All of a sudden, she heard a soft hum. Tess looked away from the bottle and tried to pinpoint the location of the noise. The sound seemed to be all around her. She looked at the main control panel then all around the cavernous ceiling. That's when it clicked.

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Hey, here it is! Thanks for some of the absolutely fab reviews, especially from MissBlackPotter, lacedwithfire and others! Next week, I'll be going on holiday for 3 weeks, so I'm going to try and put chapter 11 before I go!

Please read and review. Could I just note that you don't have to be a actual member of Fanfiction to review, I do accept Annoymous reviews!

TheNextTitan


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Walking the Mind

Valhalla's mouth fell open and his amber eyes grew wide.

"You lie about such terrible things." He gasped. But his eyes flicked over his brother's face and no hint of foolishness was there. Only a hollow face of seriousness and ravenous hunger for revenge. He looked away, shock catching his breath in a steely grip in his chest.

_No fate such as this has become of those who were so noble to their King,_ he thought, staring at the floor, _though he was a tyrant, I never believed him a slaughterer._

"You see my thoughts now, do you not?"

The voice, so cold, so hard penetrated his own mind and started clearing the fog of confusion. But a cloud still remained, a thunder cloud. Shooting bolts of shock and horror, tipping rain of sorrow for those lost and roaring the thunder of restraint. But the thunder always dies down. Now the wind of rage came.

"How do you expect to return home?" Valhalla asked coldly. Tarok raised an eyebrow at this.

"We won't be returning there." He growled in response. Valhalla scrambled to his feet, another wave of shock sweeping over him.

"Are you insane? If you tell the truth, Tarok, then why do we not return back to save the rest? Do you wish for them to suffer."

Tarok curled his lip and gave an almighty roar, wincing from the pain in his chest. Valhalla stepped back a few steps, alert making his body tense.

"You treat me as some kind of sick twisted being, Valhalla!" He bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Valhalla. "I would wish to do that more than anything! But, you forget the King still has power and we would be destroyed." Valhalla snarled defensively back.

"You wished to kill me." He snapped. "I treat you in anyway I judge wisely."

"Then you think yourself above me?"

"In truth, I always have," Valhalla hissed. "And I always will!"

The sound of whistling came through the air, following by a short muffled thud and the sound of gasping. Valhalla looked up at the cold eyes of Tarok, then down to the spear embedded in his chest.

"Then think no more." Tarok whispered.

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Tess stared down at the control panel with utter interest and curiosity. The TARDIS hummed all around her, almost whispering to her.

_Mental link, _she thought, running a hand over the smooth alien technology, _life essence is mental and the TARDIS has a mental link with anyone who is near it. So..._ Quickly, Tess rethought of the events of the day.

_Rose wasn't near the TARDIS when she was...absorbed as I shall now name it, so there wasn't a big enough mental link there. But, when the Doctor was 'absorbed' he was in the TARDIS, which means his mental connection with the heart of the TARDIS was at its peak... _Snapping her fingers triumphantly together, Tess's puzzle finally fitted together, producing a picture and explanation of what it all meant._ He's in here! The Doctor is in here! He's in the TARDIS!_

Tess whirled around, looking at the cavernous ceiling with a smile and bright eyes. The Doctor's life essence was running through the TARDIS right now as she stood there. She heard the soft humming grow louder, as though he was praising her through the TARDIS.

Amazement running through her like wildfire, Tess reached out towards the wall and pressed her palm against the cold surface. Her hand grew suddenly warm and she felt something pull at her mind. Holding her hand still she felt the tugging grow and then suddenly stop, before a voice she recognized as the Doctor's saying, _Good Work! Couldn't have done it better myself...Well I could, but this is your moment of glory. _Tess laughed out loud. She could almost feel the Doctor's beaming smile in her mind. Because he was there, in her mind, walking the many lost corridors of unwanted memories. He was, in effect, opening the doors on these long hallways, viewing the catastrophic event that lay in them.

_Remember you can always close a door if you need too, _The Doctor said slowly, but as he said this, he was suddenly grasped by a single, blackened and charred door. Tess felt her hearts stop and tried desperately to lock it, but it seemed to be her very own mind that kept her from doing so. Almost, as if one part of her had been waiting for the Doctor to see this memory.

_Do you want me to go in?_

The question seemed to linger around Tess's head for a moment. The Doctor was waiting patiently and calmly for her answer, not wanting to feel as though he was imposing her.

The small voice in someone's head can be either very helpful or really annoying. Right now, Tess was struggling to keep it out, while the large voice, which not so many people have, was bellowing. Finally, she gave a sigh and just nodded.

--------

The Doctor hung back for a moment, before firmly striding forwards and reached out for the handle. As his hand closed round the smoked handle, he withdrew with a cry. The handle was burning, almost white hot and was already causing his palm to go a raw red. The sickly smell of burnt flesh already hung in the air, making the Doctor nearly gag, but he held it back, pulling his hand firmly into his suit jacket and quickly grabbing the handle again. Already feeling the heat seeping through the fabric, he twisted it and let it fall open.

It was black inside and the air seemed to hang with a heavy veil of sorrow. A humid breeze brushed past him as he began to walk slowly in. He was hesitant, yet being the Doctor, he was curious and this was obviously someone he needed to see.

As soon as he had walked a few steps in, the door swung shut with a crunch and the faint pattering of bits of wood as they broke away from the door. There wasn't a speck of light in the room and the blackness seemed to be caving slowly in on the Doctor as he felt around blindly.

All of a sudden, a grey light dawned in the room, casting great shadow from even the slightest piece of dust that lay on the wooden floor. The Doctor looked down and his breath caught in his chest. If he had walked any further, he would have tumbled into a great hole that was ripped into the floor. He tried to see the bottom, but could only see a swirling mist.

He looked back up, peering at the light. It shimmered constantly, like a jewel, yet it was dull and lifeless. Then, he saw people walking and suddenly a face loomed in front of him, through the light, as though it was a television. The face was angry, twisted with rage as it roared silently at him. It was a man, about mid 40's, with a crude hair cut and a greasy face. His teeth now, seemed to be fangs and his eyes, though the picture was grey, seemed to glow. He watched, frozen to the spot, trying to read his lips. But, a sudden burst of sound emitted from nowhere, causing him to jump.

_YOU DARE DISOBEY ME AGAIN, TESSA WILSON, AND BY GOD WON'T YOU GET SOME BEATING_

The Doctor frowned as he realised this as the voice of the picture he was seeing. It was one of Tess's memories, he was sure of it, but who was this? Her teacher, headmaster...Father?

_I DID NOTHING WRONG!_

That was Tess's voice, yelling back. It seemed to be choked, the hint of grief in the cry that was so obvious. The Doctor watched, wincing mentally as the man's face suddenly burst with rage. The image suddenly turned to a raised hand, which came crashing down into Tess's face. She must have toppled and crashed heavily with a small cry. Black now seemed to claw at the image, what the Doctor realised as the symptoms of her probably blacking out. The sound of thuds fading away told him that the man was walking away.

A sudden gnawing sensation began at the pit of the Doctor's two hearts, spreading out across his chest. Anger turned his vision red and he clenched his teeth together as he breathed in heavily, like a wounded animal.

He was her acting father, one of the Garthes. They abused her, beat her, to try and reawaken her memory and reactivate the powers. But, she had got close to the TARDIS and had absorbed a little power from that and had started to activate again.

The grey finally faded away once more and the Doctor was enclosed in black once more.

--------

Karok padded slowly into the silent ship. His eyes flickered around, looking at the destruction all around. He heard voices, arguing in the main control room and began forward. The words became louder in volume as the argument seemed to steep upwards in rage. Then loud, painful roars that made him jump and worry.

He came to the door into the control room and pressed his back up against the cool wall next to it, watching the shadows dance in front of him. Slowly, he grasped the facts. The ship was dead, they were stranded here, their King lied...Their friends were all dead. The voice that gave this news was Tarok's, yet it sounded nothing like it. It was full of hate and bitterness, unlike Tarok completely.

He heard the sounds of ripping flesh and the stench of blood was it the air already. Valhalla's shadow waved its arms at Tarok's, snarling an insult. Tarok roared and raised a finger, snarling viciously back with spitting fury. Then the voices went low and Karok noticed Valhalla's spear twitch into life and rise off the ground, twirling in the air. Karok realised what was to happen, but did so too late. The spear was hurled forward and there was a short grunt, before Tarok's voice ended it and the dull thud of a body hitting the ground began the silence.

Shock and horror gripped Karok in a cold grasp and he couldn't breathe. His fist clenched hard around the warm wood of his own spear and closed his eyes, muttering a few words to Valhalla's spirit.

"You pray for a traitor?" Came a soft hiss. Karok snapped his eyes open, coming face to face with Tarok's sneering face.

"I pray for a lost brother," Karok growled back. "I curse those who kill another." Tarok smirked and shook his head.

"Valhalla thought the same." He replied sourly, striding past him and towards the weapons room. "You only see the law of it all." Karok frowned and walked after him.

"Do you not see your actions?" He snarled. "Valhalla is dead! You killed your own brother!" He was even more shocked as Tarok replied coolly, "You would have done the same some other time, Karok. It was a murder waiting to happen." Tarok brought out two pendants, both a long strip of leather tied to a small sphere of blue stone. He threw one at Karok and brought another out. It was Valhalla's, but it wasn't blue. It was a dull grey and felt like lead in his paw. He tutted and threw it away. The sound of it clanging heartlessly on the floor brought a sudden grief to Karok, but he fought it back and barked in the best voice he could muster, "What are you doing now?" Tarok stood, hanging the pendant around his neck and grasping his spear tightly.

"Killing the source of our problems."

* * *

Hey Guys, I'm sorry about the delay in the next chapter. I didn't write it in enough time beofre I was meant to go on holiday. Well, due to go anyway, our flight was cancelled and we had to get on another 3 days late, because of the bomb scare on the 10th August, the day we we were due to leave... I was very depressed, so I really didn't feel like doing any writing, but that's all in the past now, I had a fab time and I have returned to merry old wet Britain and I am back to writing. I couldn't fit much more into this chapter, so I hope you will forgive me if you think it is too short. And for the fact that it was so late as well. I apologise yet again.

Please read and review! Reviews mean the world to me and cheer me up like nothing..apart from friends and all that mushy stuff. For new readers that have just started reading my story and for the people who have been so faithful to have been reading since I have added this, I thank you so much! And that I plan, or hope even, that I will eventually turn this into a series, but I am quite worried that people will find it unoriginal or boring, so please reviw and tell me what you think of the idea and the story so far!

Thanks again:)

TheNextTitan


	12. Chapter 12

Hey! Look, I'm at the top. -looks down- A far way up I think :) Hey guys, thanks for coming back for a long and another perilous chapter...Well, you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't enjoy it...-frowns at own comment- Well, I'd better leave you all to it! And hello to the new people, who I hope, have started reading the story and have gotten this far! Well done!

Ok, I'll shut up and you can read!

TheNextTitan PS. I'm just that tad bit hyper...Sorry

* * *

Chapter 12: The King

The ground was hot, boiling in the two suns that sat above in the red sky. The sand hissed with steam and the heat loving animals bathed happily.

The great Empire's perimeter was the only thing on the planet Garfreyas, that didn't cool. The Empire was protected by cooling energy, coated over the land like a great cloak. The Garthes lived peacefully in the King's world, though the King seemed to be turning evil and bitter, more so than normal, at every sunrise and sun fall. He had already killed three servants by snapping their necks, slaughtered three hundred warriors with the end of his spear and caused grief and pain among his people. Those who saw wrong and said something against the King were whisked away, to be killed as the whispers said. Officials said that they were being turned into warriors themselves, but in their minds, they had seen the great chamber.

The great chamber was indeed a chamber of sorts, but some of the King's assistants and workers had already given it the name of 'Kark'n Goyf'ts', meaning Blood Room. The walls were almost painted crimson and skulls hung from the rafters that supported the ceilings and a few other bodies. It was said that great jars held the eyes, the hearts and the brains of the many that had been tortured and slaughtered there. All the Garthes thought none of this however and just kept themselves from being slaughtered. Why say something that won't get heard, except from the Patrol that would come and whisk you away, so that perhaps your eyes, heart and brain could join them? It was a lesson to be learnt.

The Blood Room was a major haunting of the Castle. None would enter, thinking that the spirits that had been killed there would leap into their bodies once more and walk the planet's surface once more, seeking out the living. Others thought, yet again, this to only be a fairy tale. It was wrong to think such things.

The King sat at his throne. His tangled black mane fell around his shoulders, making his crimson red skin deepen in colour. His emerald green eyes blazed as his hooves clacked against the marble of his stone chair. Claws pinched out of his fingertips, which tapped on his hollow chest.

His tail flicked with annoyance as he listened to the messenger. The messenger, a thin and weak young Garthes, shook with pure fear as his stared up at his master and relayed the news.

"Their ship l-lost contact, and w-we can't track it..." He trailed off and winced as the King moved his paws down to the arms of his throne. He smirked at the messenger's fear. That was what he wanted. This power that made them think of his name in terror. Ultimate control is what he thought of it.

"Where were they heading?"

"Sire, they have been there for years, we lost them."

"Why don't we know of their mission?" The messenger twisted his hands and pawed the ground with a hoof.

"They thought it not necessary to inform us of their travel." He murmured, now his voice quaking. The King suddenly snarled; smoke sliding out from his mouth. He pounded the arm of the throne with his boulder like fist.

"Traitors..." He hissed menacingly, stepping up to his full size. The messenger whined silently, taking small steps backwards.

"Please sire, we are tracking them now." He said, in a high pitched voice. The King roared. The sound seemed to boom around the throne room, shaking dust from it hiding place among the pillars. Each of his yellow fangs were bared for a moment, like sabres, they sliced through the air with a small whistle.

"Boren!" Came a sharp voice. The King stopped abruptly, whirling around to face a tall female Garthes.

She was as tall as Boren, with great powerful arms. Her own horns curled tightly in, spiralling round and round until finally stopping right in the middle. Her long, black hair was wavy and shined in the dim fire light of the room. Her feet were pawed and clawed, each black nail tapping on the marble floor as she padded towards him, her gold eyes glowing with anger.

Boren stared at his mate with distasted and flicked his tail with annoyance, snorting yet more curls of black smoke.

"What is it now, Garella?" He growled. She arched an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest, her lion like face turning oddly sour.

"You." She said.

"What about me?" Boren snapped.

"You wanted to know where they were, the messenger is telling you, so listen." She stated, nodding towards the trembling messenger. Boren gave a low snarl again towards her, stomping at her with rage.

"Don't tell me how to be King, Garella." He hissed at her, pushing her against a wall. She seemed unafraid of this and just glared into his eyes. "You're just the Queen. There is nothing here for you. Be gone, before I make sure you never come back."

--------

Rose suddenly snapped awake. Her eyes blinked furiously, stinging in the light. She was stiff all over, her legs almost creaking as she tried to shift them. Her arms felt like dead weights, pinning her to the bed. However, she was aware of something on top of her hand. She peered over and saw the Doctor. His hand was laid upon hers as the rest of him was resting on the side of the bed. A small smile flickered at her lips. Her hero.

She slowly sat up and gently prised her hand from his. Rose tried to move him up onto the bed, but she was too weak. So she carefully pushed him back in the chair and took the duvet off her bed, draping it over him. He didn't make a sound or move. But Rose couldn't see the pale skin of his face nor feel the cold of his hand. She was still drowsy, but she staggered out of her room and out into the TARDIS corridors.

She couldn't remember how she had got into the TARDIS or what had happened, well fully. She certainly remembered the Garthes well enough, but not all of it. Most of it had become blank.

Rose made her way up the stairs and into the Control Room. She looked round and saw Tess. She was huddled up on the floor, propped up against the wall, her forehead pressed against it. Rose bent down and prodded her awake. She jumped and almost cried out. She looked round and focused on Rose.

"You're up." She muttered, staring in awe at Rose, who looked back with mild confusion. Tess face broke out in a broad, beaming smile.

"It worked!" She said, leaping up and punching the air. "You're ok! Wait, you are alright aren't you? Not feeling odd or anything?" She suddenly said, her face flashing from pure relief to stern concern.

"Yeah, great thanks." Rose replied. Tess beamed and hugged her hard. She leapt back, not even feeling the slightest bit embarrassed, grinning from ear to ear still.

"Is the Doctor ok?" Rose asked. Tess frowned.

"He should be." She replied, her grin fading slightly. She raised her hand to her head. "He was there."

"What do you mean?"

"He was looking around...in here." Tess murmured, tapping her head and placing a hand on the wall.

"Wait. He only does that when he reads minds." Rose said. "Tess, what...what happened to me?"

Tess looked round.

"Your life essence was taken. You practically died." She replied in a low tone. Rose's eyes were like dinner plates.

"I-I died?" She asked again, her voice high and she was trembling again. Tess shook her head.

"Your body still remained alive. Well, it kind of did, but you, Rose, not 'the body' of Rose, weren't alive."

"Did that happen to the Doctor?" Tess remained silent at this.

"Tess, is the Doctor..." She trailed off, tear trickling down her tracks, making the tell-tale tracks of black from her mascara.

"No." Tess replied. She looked sadder than ever. "No, he isn't dead. But it's worse. If we don't get his life essence back into him soon...His body will die." Rose drew her hands up to her face. She wiped away the first tear, but more began to leak out of her eyes.

"Come on...think." Tess muttered to herself, leaning against the wall of the TARDIS.

_I know it's simple. But why can't I say it?_, she thought bitterly. _I know what to do, but why can't I do anything! _She nearly punched the wall in frustration. To feel so helpless and useless to someone, it made you stop, grieve and suddenly hate yourself and being. You suddenly turn away inside. Tess leant against the wall, searching with her mind. She was never going to be free, never be normal again, only to look upon those who live their lives without all this knowledge, this brain power and the heart-wrenching memories.

Tess looked over at Rose with dark eyes. She was staring vacantly at the floor, as though she had frozen. The TARDIS hummed all around them. Rose looked round, tears still blotching her eyes.

"Where...is his...?" She murmured.

"In the TARDIS." Tess replied, staring at the wall. She walked over to Rose and pulled her slowly towards the wall. She guided her hand and placed it on the cool surface.

"Close your eyes," Tess said quietly, watching as her eyelids fluttered down, "And call him." Rose frowned, but her eyes remained closed and her face set.

"Stay here." Tess ordered and she ran off into the TARDIS. Rose stayed there, not moving muscle, hardly breathing as she pressed her fingertips hard on the wall. Her mind was calling and there seemed to be an echo. She felt cold and alone.

Meanwhile, Tess was in Rose's room, looking at the Doctor's pale face. She carefully lifted off the duvet and pressed a hand against his cheek. It was cold. She immediately put her fingers on his neck. There was barely a pulse. She hung there, just feeling the faint bumps going past her fingers, a wave of shock cascading over her. She dived into action. She hooked her arms under his arms again and dragged him over to the wall. She carefully propped him there, making sure his head was resting there.

_Come on..._

Back up in the control room, Rose had suddenly felt a warm sensation spread through her from the tips of her fingers to the end of her toes. Yellow flashed in her eyes and voice replied, with a certain wondrous tone:

_Hello, this is the Doctor speaking, how can I be of service, Miss Tyler? _Rose burst out laughing, tears flooding down her cheeks.

_I hope you have a mop. The TARDIS won't clean itself. _


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Massacre Begins

Tarok stared hungrily at the sky, licking the sweat off his lips. Karok could only feel the shudders ripple through his body as he too stared upwards. His mind was almost willing the incoming vessel to stay away. His pendant felt lighter around his neck as he felt it feeding off this fear.

They were knelt in the middle of a cluster of trees, using the great plants to shield the human's eyes from them. Blue sky was filtering through the small tree canopy, like shaped snippets of the atmosphere above.

Karok glanced over at his brother. His eyes seemed distant, glazed over with a trance, yet the yellow orbs still shimmered from the great power that was hidden beneath them. It was as though looking through muddy water for gold. Tarok still remained away in his own peace; letting Karok lets his own thoughts drift into uncertainty and anxiety.

The smooth images of Tarok at the throne were repeated over and over again. The great silver grown, with the egg sized emerald in the centre lay on top of his neatly brushed mane, a fanged smile on his clean face and a great staff clutched in his greasy paws. He saw all his people, looking at him with the same worry and hatred in their eyes as they stared on the present King. Could it really be possible? Would Tarok really become a new tyrant?

Tarok suddenly was drawn out of his dreams and back at Karok. Karok snapped up, looking worriedly at the sky and then back at Tarok.

"No more shall we wait..." He muttered. "The time is coming closer." Karok flicked his eyes back up again, before frowning. Tarok's hand suddenly grasped his own.

"Brother, the time is coming!" He whispered, a wide smile slipping across his face. "The time, the time of the great wait is over. We can begin!"

"Begin? What do you intend to begin, Tarok?" Karok asked nervously, his paws sinking deeper into the moist earth.

"I intend to do many beginnings, but only one beginning shall lead to an end!" He said, hoarsely, as though there was some other being with them, listening, their ear dedicated to their conversation. "Now, brother, now we begin where the plan begins."

"You are crazed, Tarok," Karok said slowly, "You are making no sense! What is the beginning of this great plan?"

"The beginning of my plan, the ending of another. Now, Karok, now the race that lives here, will be the slaves. They will be the sacrifice. No, the offering. It begins! The Massacre begins!"

--------

_How are you feeling?_

Rose paused for a minute, unsure of what to answer. Yes or no, would be too basic. But, would she lie to him to stop him from worrying.

"Yeah...I'm fine." Even then, she could almost see that frown on his face; see the intense brown eyes suddenly stiffen with concern. The pause was unbearable, seeming to last hours instead of seconds. The silence was stabbing her with a thousand knives. It was pure relief when he finally said, trying so hard to keep his voice from being so stern,

_I'll be there soon. It's just going to take a while..._

"How long?" Rose suddenly blurted out, unable to stop it from slipping from her lips. She could almost picture that grin.

_Not as long as you're thinking, obviously._

"That's really helpful..." Rose muttered sarcastically, enjoying the moment.

_Patience, my dear yellow and pink friend. Like in most episodes of some London based soap; patience is a virtue. _Replied the voice is an all-knowing tone.

"What on earth are you on about?"

_Or is it "What in TARDIS are you on about?"_

"Please, now you're disturbing me."

_There's no harm to some old fashioned saying, you know, Rose. They do come in handy...Sometime...Can't recall when they've helped me, but 900 years does ruin the memory._

"Or does that mean, in all of the 900 years of your life, not one of those sayings has done anything for you?"

_Could be both._

"Thought so."

There was a sudden silence between them, as though their minds were buzzing. Rose's ears were ringing with the no noise and suddenly a feeling of dread stabbed at the happiness that had seemed to have fluttered inside her moments ago.

"You...will get back, won't you?" She asked suddenly.

_Why, worried about having to stand here hour upon hour against a wall?_

"No...I'm just...worried, that's all."

_I know you are. But, you just have to trust me, like you always do. At least I hope you do. _

"I trust you with my life, Doctor...You know that." Rose's voice was almost pleading. The Doctor seemed to be considering this, as though it was sudden blow. He thought about all of his recent companions, all dancing around in his vast mind. They had trusted in him with their lives, but now they were all gone in the past. The curse seemed to be getting to him. The curse that stopped him from everything. The curse of the Time Lords.

"Doctor?" He suddenly snapped back to life and began to speak, but then he felt a sort of tugging. It was time to go.

_Rose...I need to leave. I need to begin getting back into my body. Look after Tess for me, don't go outside and please...Don't touch anything..._

Rose tutted, but she felt a sense of dread as he began to slip out of her mind. She could only hope, with one last wish, that it wouldn't be the last time she had heard his voice.

--------

Garella snarled bitterly, bringing her fist hard down on the stone table. Cracks bit into the rock and spread like sudden cold wildfire, sending splinters flying into the air and toppling down around her. Her eyes blazed with rage as he claws flew from her fingers, digging deep into her palm and creating a small trickle of blood. She felt like unleashing a powerful roar and tearing her mate into shreds.

She knew better. That would be stooping to his level. She brought her hand up to the light, examining the deep cuts and watching the blood glisten grimly in the light. What had become of her? If her mother could see her now, she would be stricken and furious. The once, calm, kind and placid Garella had been consumed by Boren, turning her into a female replica of him, twisting her hopes and dreams into doubt and nightmares. What life was she to lead further with this King?

Garella went over to a basin of water and plunged her hand into the icy cold. The blood plumed, staining the crystal clear water with a crimson cloud. Her hand felt suddenly sore, but she could feel the water lapping at her wounds, cleaning them with purity beyond all medicines. She clenched and clenched before bringing her hand back out, using a robe to mop the blood away.

The silky green material absorbed the blood, suddenly blooming red. She removed it, letting it fall gracefully to the floor with a muffled flutter as it curled up on the floor. She peered at her hand again. The flesh around the wounds was turning a rose pink and she could still see blood trying to break free. The pain was bad, but she didn't want to let it show. It could only allow others too see the pain that she had hidden for so long...

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in..." Garella murmured as she gathered the green robe quickly off the ground and wound it round her hand. The door creaked open and a child's face peered in. Garella raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Noko? What are you doing here?" She asked. Noko's violet eyes gleamed with tears. She rushed in, her small hoofed feet pattering on the floor as she dived into her aunt's arms. Her tail wriggled sadly and her ears her fat, next to her stubs of beginning horns.

"Whatever is the matter, young one?" Garella asked quietly as she picked up the small cub off the ground and hugged her to her chest.

"Mother says that... the King is going to kill you one day!" She spluttered, fighting hard to keep the tears from dripping down her furry cheeks. "I don't want you to die!" Garella chuckled softly and hugged Noko tight.

"Don't worry, your Uncle wouldn't dare." She cooed softly, stroking her soft, fuzzy hair with her unharmed hand. "He's just...having difficulties at this time." Noko gazed up at her aunt with admiration, grinning a little, her tiny fangs in sight.

"Is it because of brother Valhalla?" She asked quietly. Garella shook her head, but didn't answer. It had been over 3 seasons since she had sent Valhalla, Tarok and Karok down to Earth. She glanced down at Noko, gazing into those violet orbs full of such worry and curiosity. She would never be a warrior. She would be a mage. A mage of such power that she would control the army with a blink of an eye. Garella's sister was not of such power, but her Noko's father was by far the best mage. But he was dead, after an incident with his power.

Noko nudged her aunt.

"Aunt?"

"Yes, Noko?"

"Why is Uncle leaving?"

"He is?"

"The Grand Ship is starting, Aunt! He is leaving." Garella's eyes widened with fear and she put Noko quickly on the ground again.

"Noko, go and find your mother. Now please." She said hurriedly, grabbing her spear from the side.

"But Aunt..."

"Noko, go now!" Garella snapped. Noko silenced immediately and scampered out of the room. Garella stared after her. She would make it up to her later, but right now, she had a husband to stop and perhaps a planet to save.

* * *

Hey Readers!

Sorry for the age long wait and the crap chapter. I've been having problems with my story recently, a.k.a Writers Block, but I've gotten over that now and the story has been updated as you can see.

I apologise in advance if there is another delay in the next chapter. This is because of writing time in my life is very limited, seeing as I have amounts of homework which is complete and utter torture, especially from a midget teacher I won't mention.

Thanks for reading, please please please review. I'm quite low on confidence for writing, due to a change with my english teaching, so please please review! Reviewing is available to memebers and non-menmbers on this story, so if you're looking round FanFic and have read my story to up here, please feel free to submit a review!

Next Chapter will be up soon! I hope...

TheNextTitan


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